The Royal Blood
by Animedaisuki
Summary: When I parted ways with Prince Joshua, I never expect to reunite with him again, but apparently, fate loves playing with me. I'm Racel Morgan, a fashion designer, an average girl. I continued to lead a normal life, but as days pass, things become much complicated than expected and it all started when my step-mother discovered that I'm alive. Hold on...I have a step-mother?
1. Prologue

**The Royal Blood**

(A Be My Princess Fan Fiction)

 _Fan Fiction by : Animedaisuki_

 **Prologue**

 _Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep_

"Mm…?"

I stirred in my bed, still wrapped in my blankets looking messed up, as usual. Please, cut me some slack, it's morning and it's a new year.

"Shit, I'm gonna be late for my job interview!"

Hi, I'm Racel Morgan and I'm about to be late. I recently graduated from college for Fashion Designing here in Oriens Kingdom. Spare me the thought, when I say kingdom, I didn't say I'm a princess, just a regular citizen who keeps telling herself that the royal life is far from her face.

I started working in an insurance company after a month of graduating from fashion designing. Stupid, I know, but I kept applying for jobs that's aligned to my course.

"Good morning, mom!", I cheerfully greeted my mom as I ran down the stairs.

"Hello, darling. Are you ready for your interview?"

"Oh, come on mom, being interviewed is how I make a living."

My mom smiled and encouraged me while I ran across our foyer and out the road , "Sweetheart, you'll get the job you want soon! Best of luck later!"

"Thanks, mom!"

New year, same me.

"Thank you for today, Ms. Morgan. Please expect an e-mail from us within next week."

I bowed in respect and replied, "It's a pleasure."

I left the establishment and headed home since it's a Saturday. I am currently wearing a fit cream colored knee-length sleeveless formal dress with a brown trench coat that I left unbuttoned paired with slightly pointed cream colored four-inch stilettos.

Upon arriving, I went upstairs and just slept. Saturday flew by, so did Sunday and the next thing I knew, it's Monday.

I was chatting with some co-workers during our lunch break, talking about relationships and stuff.

"Racel, do you have a boyfriend?"

"Now that you remind me, I don't.", I replied.

"Geez, why aren't beautiful people in a relationship? Come on, Racel, any guy would get down on their knees for you!"

I laughed with them.

"I don't even have my dream job yet, I'm still 21 and I think I still have time to get a boyfriend.", I replied. _'I mean, at least I hope so…'_

Just then, the television flashed a news about the six princes from six kingdoms coming over to the Nobel Michel's Castle for the special ball being held.

"Oh my God, look, the princes, Prince Wilfred is my favorite, he looks so calm and polite and charming and-"

"You're spacing out again.", I called out and laughed.

"They're princes, Racel. It's hard to believe, but they're really still out there!"

I smiled glumly, "Yeah, whoopee."

For God's sake, they're princes, I know and obviously my life is not as magical as theirs. I can't even get my dream job much less meet a prince or even much, much less, marry one.

I came home with my mom greeting me with excitement.

"What happened? Why are you so excited?", I asked.

My mother went to the living room and picked up an envelope that appears to have a foreign stamp.

"Here."

I shrugged it away, "I don't wanna read it, mom. I know what it'll say anyway: 'We regret to inform you blah blah blah'."

"Come on, honey, it may say something new."

"Oh, like, 'Sorry, we're not interested'?", I replied.

"Racel—"

"I know, I know, I should keep hoping. I guess that's all I'll ever do."

I took the envelop hesitantly from my mom and read it.

"Oh. My. God."

My mom peered over my shoulder.

"AHHHHHH! Mom! I got accepted to Jeanne Pierre! Mom. Mom! Mom!"

My mother was almost sobbing her eyes out to the extent of collapsing to the floor smiling from ear to ear.

"I knew you'd do it…I'm so proud of you!", my mother exclaimed.

When my dad came home, we talked about all the details of my acceptance and everything else. Jeanne Pierre is my dream company, I've been wanting to work there for as long as I can remember. Although it is based on Charles Kingdom, and I have to leave home for a while, my parents agreed on it.

The week after, I have formally resigned from my current job in Oriens and was getting ready for my flight to Charles later in the afternoon.

"Make sure you get as much clothes as necessary.", Mom advised.

"Yes, mom."

"And when you get there, go straight to the hotel we managed to book."

"Yes, mom."

"Also, don't forget to always check your belongings and inform us immediately if something _weird_ happens."

"Yes, mom."

All that conversation went on until my departure. I was lucky enough to catch a cheap ticket to fly to Charles on first-class. Before heading for the departure area, my parents hugged me so tight I wish I shouldn't have decided on leaving.

"Take good care of yourself out there okay? Inform us when you get there."

I smiled, "I will, mom."

"I know you'll make us proud. Keep looking towards your goals, alright, kid?"

"Hahaha! I will, dad. I'll become the best fashion designer you've ever seen."

Yeah, okay, I was crying at this point, but there's no reason to elaborate on it. I hugged my parents and waved them goodbye before leaving for Charles.

 _'Passengers of Plane 970, your plane is ready for departure.'_

"I guess it's time…", I muttered quietly.

I board my plane and I silently left Oriens, heading for Charles. Upon arriving, I took the advice of my parents and went straight to the addressed hotel.

Alright, so maybe I went to the wrong hotel. There is now freaking way that my family could afford a hotel _that_ fancy. I mean, hey, just being honest with myself because I'm aware that we are definitely _not_ filthy rich for me to be addressed to the most famous hotel in Charles.

I decided to ring my mom. It was probably a mistake.

"Mom, hi! I've arrived here in Charles safe and sound, but something _weird_ happened."

"What happened? Did you leave your female stuff somewhere? Are you hurt? Accident?! Answer me!"

"Uh…wrong hotel?"

"What?! But we booked you the fanciest there! That's our gift for you! How come there has been a misunderstanding with the address?"

 _What?_

 _What?!_

 _WHAT?!_

"WHAT?! Seriously? You didn't have to spend too much on this! Oh…thanks so much…"

I'm so shocked. I'm still in shock. Honestly, it's a rare thing for a normal person like me to receive such huge gifts. I feel so thankful.

"Sweetie?", My mom woke me from my trance and I realized that I have been standing in front of the hotel for too long.

"Thank you, mom. Tell dad I said thanks. This is so huge!", I laughed.

Mom, once again, reminded me the reminders she always remind me of. After thanking her, I went in the hotel and checked in.

"Good morning, I'm here to check in Room 435.", I told the staff managing in the counter.

"Of course. I'll have it ready for you. Please wait for a while.", she replied gleefully.

While waiting, I double checked my phone, wallet, and other stuff, hoping I didn't leave anything behind.

"Miss, I apologize, someone else is booked in your room number. There has been a mistake in the encoding of one of our staffs. I apologize. If you're okay with it, we'd have you move to Penthouse 3, but your expenses and check in payment will be as if you are checked in Room 435."

I almost had a heart attack when she said all those things. This day just can't get weirder. My room was taken by mistake, and now I'm moving to the penthouse, which is totally fine by me, but I feel bad for the staff who made the mistake, hopefully he or she won't get fired or anything like that…

"It's really fine. I do understand and please, another ordinary room will be fine.", I replied with a smile.

"I apologize, the rest are booked and the others are being renovated, we are currently doing our renovation so the only available room for you is our Penthouse 3."

"I understand. Penthouse 3 then."

 _"Moving up to the penthouse!"_ is something worth posting on social media right now.

I went in the elevator specifically for the people living only in the penthouses of the hotel. As the door was about to close, a guy, wearing dark shades and a casual outfit went in, panting as if he ran a mile.

I stepped aside to give him some space on the elevator. He looked at me when he entered and sent out a smile. _So charming._

"Are you new?", the guy asked.

"Yes. Are you from around here?", shrugging and trying to start a conversation, I replied.

"No. I'm only here for a tour in Nobel Michael's Castle. Have you ever been?", he asked politely.

"No, never! I wanted to but…", I was cut off when the guy laughed way too suddenly.

He looked at me, removing his sunglasses, revealing his dark gray eyes, resembling the ones like my mom's.

"Arcel Miller."

I looked up at him, and it hit me that he's trying to introduce himself, stretching out a hand towards me.

"Racel Morgan, pleasure to meet you.", I took his hand, shook it briefly before letting go.

"Likewise."

 _Ding_

We both went out, so I guess his penthouse is in the same floor as mine.

"I assume you're from Oriens Kingdom?", Arcel started.

I nodded. "How'd you know?"

"I saw your charm.", Arcel pointed out the charm dangling from the side of my bag.

It's been my lucky charm since my elementary days and it sure has brought me some awesome luck today. First the hotel, now the penthouse? It sure is _lucky_ , but it doesn't look lucky, it's just a simple gold snowflake since Oriens is not a place where snow visits often and I love snow…so yeah.

"Ah. Yeah, I am, and you are…?"

"Liberty Kingdom."

 _'Liberty? That's the newest kingdom among the six, if I am correct.'_ , I thought.

"Well, I guess I'll see you then.", Arcel waved off politely.

"Yeah, see you."

I walked further and turned a corner before arriving to my own place. Just as expected, the goddamn room is overlooking the entire city. Almost every corner has a huge window. After the doorway, there's the living room in the center, on the farther right side are the dining area and kitchen. The bathroom's probably on the corner right side, as a smart guess, the farther left side leads to the rooms. Everything was too luxurious, it's like a fairytale! Appliances are complete where all things are in order, hopefully the peace and order in my life remains like this daily. But with my luck, it won't, obviously.

Okay, so I didn't realize that there were a few steps down leading to the entire room after the doorway, and speak of the devil, yeah, I tripped, my stilettos almost broke and —duh!— I fell on my face. Very exciting.

"My luck just ran out.", I announced, trying to sit up without looking stupid. For the first time this entire day, I had a great idea, I removed my shoes!

First things first, I gotta unpack, clean up the room a bit, and go for a shower. I took over the master's bedroom of the penthouse, which, by the way, I loved. It has an elegant vibe, with one huge sliding glass door leading to the balcony and one big window overlooking one side of the city of Charles. I assumed, across the hustle and bustle, was the royal castle of Charles. Quite majestic and magical. For a brief moment, I wondered what it was like to have royal blood, to be served, doing only her duties…

 _Ding dong_

My thoughts were interrupted when the penthouse doorbell rang. I quickly went to the door and opened it, only to be faced with the hotel manager.

"Oh, good morning!", I chirped in greeting.

The manager smiled, "I welcome you to our hotel. I'm not here to discuss rules and regulations but since you're new, we'd like to inform you that your regular meals are free and are all accounted for by the check in fee. I believe it was not stated in our guest book since it's a new promo of ours. But anyway, I hope we see you later at the dining hall."

 _'Good thing I don't need to spend anything when eating. I can always eat here! Thank God!'_ , I thought.

I nodded, accepting their offer and waved the hotel manager good bye. It's very interesting how this kingdom is way different back at Oriens. I guess they also have different customs in terms of hotel accommodations. Anyway, I was pleased with how the hotel turned out, this is the best hotel experience I have had ever since the haunted hotel I checked into during my trip with my friends during college.

After successfully unpacking, cleaning up, and taking a shower, wearing my pastel green blouse, faded ripped skinny jeans and white denim jacket, which I paired with a pair of white 3-inch pointed stilettos and a white handbag, I went out of my penthouse and got ready for lunch. I brought along the letter sent to me by Jeanne Pierre because I would be reporting to work after lunch time, as scheduled. Obviously, it's not very cold so why bring a denim jacket? I don't know, that's why I had it slung over my forearm.

The dining area appeared to me as a restaurant where only VIPs eat. Crystal chandeliers and beige-themed table cloths scattered. I decided to sit near the window where I can see the city and the people walking in shops and hustling to get back to work after having lunch. It seems like a busy day in Charles.

"Greetings, mademoiselle. What will you be having for today's lunch?", the waiter asked patiently.

I looked over the menu he handed out to me and went with lasagna, mashed potato, and Charles' famous white wine. I love drinking wine, especially on special occasions. I'm not saying that I do it often, I don't. I am a self-proclaimed wine-lover and since I am in Charles might as well taste their specialty, and yes, I am decent enough so as not to finish an entire bottle.

Lunch passed, I was so full, but I headed out for work anyway. Jeanne Pierre's office is a bit far, maybe three stoplights in terms of distance, but since Charles has smooth pavements, it's easy to walk on my heels going there, just to save myself from paying a cab, since it's somewhat a walking distance and I ate a lot so I want to give myself time to digest before arriving to my new office. So I walked.

I passed by a confectionary and I remembered the one we run back home. It's probably busy today, I can't help thinking about my mom, she's probably really busy running back and forth to serve the people buying the sweets we sell. I laughed to myself trying to imagine my mom. I was too busy remembering the days when I, too, was busy with the store, and almost passed Jeanne Pierre's office.

I suddenly felt nervous, I wanna go running back to my mom and just forget about everything. I pulled myself together and went in.

I greeted them and bowed, "Good afternoon, my name is Racel Morgan and—"

No one paid any attention to me because they were all running around, so busy to even notice anyone coming from their front door. Then, I noticed a man wearing an extravagant attire, there he was, standing a few feet from me, Jeanne Pierre himself.

"You there!", Jeanne Pierre shouted at me.

"Y-yes? Sir?"

"What are you doing?!"

My tongue rolled and I forgot everything, "I-I-I was recently accepted here and I was supposed to work as your assistant and I came here to report for work and—"

"Ma cherie, chop chop darling! We got lots of work to do! Racel Morgan?"

"Yes, sir?", I stuttered.

"It _is_ you! At last! A new addition to my Jeanne Pierre family! Ma chou, please do me a favor and have this dress delivered. All at once, darling!", Jeanne Pierre stated.

I smiled and bowed, knowing that I _finally_ got my dream job! I went out and got a cab and showed the driver the address.

 _Nobel Michael's Castle, The Holy Land_

 _P.S. Deliver to Cynthia_

 _'Cynthia? Probably the model? But what would she be doing in Nobel Michael's?'_ , I thought silently.

It was a silent ride, it took a while since we had to cross the bridge going to The Holy Land, but it was quick enough, maybe 2-3 hours. I still have enough time to come back at the office. The driver pulled along the pavement near the castle's massive staircase. I paid the driver and walked up the stairs. As I walked, I noticed an old man, with long white hair and beard, he must be an aristocrat of some sort. He was walking up, at a slower pace than mine, but I noticed that he was running out of balance. I didn't know what actually happened but I found myself running towards him, on my heels, with my bag, and the dress to be delivered. Just in time, I placed a hand behind the old man and steadied him.

He looked at me and smiled in relief, "Thank you, young lady. You saved my life! Oh, I have to repay you! What would you like? Anything! I'll repay you with anything as long as it is in my power!"

I'm not really looking for a payment, I'm not a gold digger, but I guess the old man was trying to thank me.

"I'm sorry, but I don't need you to repay me, sir. I helped out of will and I don't know what happened as well, but you need not repay me, kind sir.", I bowed respectfully.

"But you saved my life. Why don't you come to my party later? I'll take care of everything."

"Nobel Michael! Sir! What happened?!"

I saw men in suits running from above the staircase, I assumed they were the old man's body guards. Wait. What did they just call him?

"Nobel Michael! Where have you been, sir? We've been looking everywhere!", the man leading the other bodyguards called out.

I almost fell down the stairs, "You're Nobel Michael?"

The old man smiled, "Why yes! You can call me 'Uncle Mike' to make it less formal. It's something I always say to my staff but they kept calling me Nobel Michael! Hahaha! I owe my life to this young lady. She saved me from falling down the stairs. My dear, what is your name?"

"Racel Morgan, sir.", I bowed.

"This is my head butler, Zain.", Nobel Michael introduced.

The butler placed his hand on his chest and bowed his head, "A pleasure to meet you. We owe you many thanks for saving Nobel Michael."

Nobel Michel laughed, "I still don't know what you want in return, young girl, but for now, I would like to invite you to the party that I will be hosting tonight! Here, an invitation."

Nobel Michael took a slender, elegant invitation from one of his staff and handed it to me.

"Thank you for this, I'll try my best to come.", I bowed as I accepted the invitation card.

"Please do. Well, I will be on my way. I'll see you again, Racel. Thank you!", Nobel Michael said as he walked up a few more steps and disappeared in the castle's entryway.

Zain turned to me and said, "You work for Jeanne Pierre, I assume, miss?"

"Yes. How did you—"

"The dress, milady. Only Jeanne Pierre makes such exquisite deigns. Please follow me."

Zain led me towards the entryway and the inside was more extravagant than what it looks from the outside. High ceilings lined with boulders, everything was just as I expected from a castle. It was dreamy, magical, as if I were really part of the nobility. My thoughts were interrupted when Zain spoke.

"Lady Racel, I have to apologize, I am needed by Nobel Michael and I must hurry. I'll have to leave you, but the guest rooms are located at the left hall near the lounge, which is only straight ahead.", Zain apologized, bowing.

I smiled and bowed in thanks. "It's really fine, I understand. I can handle the rest, thank you for your time."

Then, Zain left.

Yep, I can really handle myself, except for the fact that I appear to be walking aimlessly for minutes! God, Racel, that was not very smart. Then, a kind young man approached me. His hair was silver, and he has this gentlemanly aura around him and the fact that he smelled like roses makes him have a kind appearance.

"Excuse me, miss, are you okay? You seem rather lost.", he said.

"I'm not really lost, sir, I'm, well, yes…I am lost.", I replied shyly, trying to hide my embarrassment, I looked down.

The guy laughed heartily, "Where would you be heading to? I may be able to help."

"I'm looking for the guest rooms. I was sent by Jeanne Pierre to deliver this dress to Ms. Cynthia."

The guy's eyes widened, "Jeanne Pierre? You must be a designer then!"

I blushed, "Yes, sir."

He led me along a couple of turns and just then, a phone rang, I was about to check my phone, but I soon realized it was the guy's. He excused himself for a while and I waited. When he came back, he looked rather glum.

He sighed, "Sorry, I've been called over by my butler, wanting me to prepare for the upcoming party. I apologize, milady, I have to leave, but I will expect to see you again some time."

I bowed in thanks. "It's not a problem, thank you for your help."

Then, the guy left and turned the other direction.

I looked around and saw someone rather familiar. I approached the man, "Excuse me."

He turned around and smiled, "Racel?"

"Sorry? How did you—"

"Yu! What's the matter?", someone from behind the man I talked to called out.

Then it hit me. "'Yu'? As in…"

"Ah, is she your friend?", the man who called out approached.

"Yes, your highness, it's Racel Morgan!", the guy called 'Yu' replied.

 _'Hold on, 'your highness'?! Meaning he's a prince?! And the other guy I talked to was his butler! And his name was…OMG, the dress!'_ , I thought in panic.

"Sorry, do you know where the lounge is, sirs?", I asked politely, though in panic.

"You mean the place where you've been standing the entire time?", the prince stated, which I personally thought was kind of rude.

"Uh, yes, sir. Thank you, I'll be on my way!", I bowed and ran towards the left hall and into the guest room hall.

The two men stared at me as I ran but I cared less, I am in a hurry! They were probably talking about how weird I must have been. I don't know.

"Racel Morgan?", the prince asked.

"Yes, your highness. Don't you remember her?", the butler asked.

The prince looked down and replied smugly, "I do…She doesn't remember me, but it's clearly written on her face that she remembers who _you_ are."

 _Knock knock_

I knocked on Cynthia's door, hopefully I was knocking on the right room.

"Come in, please." A voice from inside the room called out.

I opened the door slowly and I was right! It's Cynthia! The top model, her blonde hair and slender appearance! It _is_ her!

"Good afternoon, Ms. Cynthia, I came with a delivery from Jeanne Pierre.", I greeted.

Cynthia smiled, "Hi, please, sit. I never really planned to go to this party, you know?"

"Huh? Why?", I asked so suddenly I didn't realize it was out of respect. _'I am so in trouble.'_

I thought that Cynthia would get angry, saying that it's none of my business, but instead, she smiled and giggled.

"I'm on my day-off and was supposed to have a date with my boyfriend, but my manager insisted me to attend!"

I laughed, "Is that so…"

"Can I ask you for a favor? I know I've put you through more than enough trouble, but, will you please accompany me to the party? I hate going alone in parties. For a friend?"

 _'Friends? I'm friends with_ the _Cynthia?! OMG!'_ , I thought so suddenly.

"I'm sorry, but I still have work after my delivery, I don't think I can be of help."

Cynthia pouted, "I'll call Monsieur Pierre for you. I'll handle it, now go! Freshen up! And by the way, I love your outfit."

She pushed me in the shower and shut the door, telling me she knows it's a good opportunity for me to meet people, such as the crown princes, and other well-known celebrities. Obviously, I would love that, but, my work…I do hope Cynthia convinces Monsieur Pierre so as not to fire me. Cynthia asked me to shower up as she talks to Jeanne Pierre over the phone. Seriously, this isn't how I plan to go through, I don't even know if this is a good luck or not.

"Racel! Are you done? Jeanne Pierre's on hold, he wants to talk to you.", Cynthia called out.

"Yeah, I'm just drying off."

I went out wearing a bathrobe as I moved over to pick up Jeanne Pierre's call.

Deep breaths, I spoke, "Hello?"

 _"MA CHERIE!"_

"Monsieur Pierre—"

 _"I am so happy for you, darling! You go enjoy your evening! I heard from Cynthia that the crown princes will be there! Oh my goodness! Please, try not to steal them from me, I would clearly hate that. Ah! Ma chou, I picked out a dress for you from one of my latest designs and I am sure that it will suit you well, I just know it! These kinds of chances only come once in a lifetime, ma cherie, so wear that dress and shine!"_

"Thank you, Monsieur Pierre.", I almost spoke in a whisper because I never thought that Monsieur Pierre would be supportive of a commoner like me in attending this party.

 _"Hahaha! I expect details tomorrow! First thing in the morning, ma cherie, in my office! You will talk about all the latest gossip of what will happen tonight. Ciao!"_

When I hung up on him, Cynthia dragged me towards the dressing room, there, stood a make-up table full of expensive cosmetics, some I've never heard of, some that I didn't think would exist. I'm not really a fan of make-up, I only put on your usual ones such as: foundation, primer, eyeliner, blush, lipstick, eye shadow, mascara. I don't put on anything on my brows cause I adore my brows as it is. Anyway, I've never tried curling my lashes, I'm scared, and I don't do those blending of some sort, but right now, Cynthia has her own way with make-up, I guess it's a common skill among models. So by now, all the stress I've gained were all covered and in reality, I look…great. Cynthia didn't put on much cosmetics on my face, but even though, my features improved, but of course, let's stick to the fact that we're beautiful the way we are.

I didn't know how long that took, but right now, Cynthia's finishing up her own make-up. I tried to decide on my hairstyle, because I have straight hair, and it's quite long, hazel brown, and I don't wanna look stupid. Until now, I still haven't seen the dress that I would be wearing, but I know it's something exquisite, of course, it's chosen by Monsieur Pierre himself. Anyway, I went with a simple look, a classic braided bun with small curls on the side of my face.

 _Knock knock_

"Omygosh, Racel, I think your dress has arrived!", Cynthia squealed aloud.

I laughed nervously. Look, I never really planned any of this, if something happens to me, I am so dead. Well, I walked to the door and opened it, only to be faced by a marvelous, yet simple looking dress.

 _'Monsieur Pierre…It's amazing…'_

"Oh wow…", Cynthia muttered in astonishment. "The dress! It's so…wow. You _have_ to try it on. You seriously _need_ to try it on. I want to see it it! Come on, come on!"

"Wait! What if doesn't fit?", I said in shock.

Cynthia went silent, possibly thinking the same thing. "Uhm…NO! It _will_ fit! If not…then…well, you're a fashion designer! You can figure something out! Now go! I'm excited to see it!"

I tried the dress on and it was perfect. Everything went in place the moment I tried on the dress, well, evening gown. It was navy blue in color, off shoulder, and has a thin silver belt lined with Swarovski crystals. From the torso were small bits of Swarovski crystals and as it goes down the bottom of the skirt, more crystals are added, making the bottom lining covered in crystals, forming a waterfall-like design. It was simple yet majestic, it wasn't a ball gown, it was a simple A-line gown, but I loved it.

"Racel, you look like a princess! I love your look!", Cynthia squealed. "Oh, look, there's a note."

"Huh?" I picked up the card attached to the bag where the dress was kept.

 _Racel,_

 _Ma cherie, you are, without a doubt, a person with talent. The moment you stepped in my office, I knew you have something in you. I hope you enjoy your evening. It will be the night you will never forget. This dress and the accessories coming along with it are gifts from our Jeanne Pierre family, may it let you shine throughout the night. Spill every detail tomorrow morning! Have fun, darling!_

 _Jeanne Pierre_

"Thank you so much, Monsieur Pierre…", I whispered.

Cynthia laughed, "Don't get too sentimental now. Jeanne Pierre wants you to have fun!"

I nodded, smiling. The bag where the dress was kept contained the matching silver stilettos and silver accessories. This night just can't get any better. Cynthia was wearing an elegant peach tube gown with a white fur shawl. I have to say, we both looked great. Now, it's time for the party.

"I'm nervous. This was a _very_ bad idea.", I blurted out.

"No, it's not. You look wonderful, Racel. What are you so worried about?"

"Everything! I never really planned this, I mean, I don't belong in this world, Cynthia."

Cynthia snorted, "Who cares? You have an invitation, meaning, you deserve to be here, plus, your outfit will look way better than anyone there. Let's go!"

If it weren't for Cynthia, I would've been lost on my way to the ballroom. The place was _huge_! Corner halls, twists and turns, gosh! Can't Uncle Mike provide signages for each room? This way here, this way there? Maybe I should ask that of him as his way of thanking me?

"You ready?", Cynthia whispered.

"No."

"Racel!"

"Yes.", I sighed ever so lightly.

"Great! Let's go! The party's started and we are, like, ten minutes late!"

"Cynthia, more people will come late, it's a thing."

Cynthia tugged me along, "Just shush, we can't be too late, it's shameful!"

At last, we entered the ballroom. Tons of people —celebrities, aristocrats, diplomats, nobles, and royalties— were roaming around and, what do they call it? Mingling? Yeah. Mingling. I was lost in thought and accidentally bumped with another lady.

"Sorry.", I apologized.

The lady looked at me from head to toe and replied, "Don't worry about it."

Am I being judged right now? Seriously, please, someone tell me how to communicate with these kinds of human beings, because I'm sure as hell that they can see through me and they know I'm no noble person and I can tell that they don't like it.

"Cynthia!", someone called out.

"Prince Roberto! Great to see you!", Cynthia replied.

 _'Prince Roberto? The crown prince of Altaria? No way.'_ , I thought in shock.

"Roberto, I'd like you to meet my friend, Racel. She designs for Jeanne Pierre.", Cynthia said.

"I'm Roberto Button, pleased to meet you. You look dazzling!"

"Thank you, your highness. The pleasure's mine."

Roberto held my hand and kissed my knuckles. Very classic. I tried to hide my blush, because I am not used to this kind of lifestyle! Hello! When I greet new people I say, 'Hey, how you doing?'. I am never used to being treated like a noble's daughter.

"You seem flustered. Is something wrong?", Roberto queried.

"N-no! I'm fine, thank you for asking."

Cynthia giggled, "She's new to this kind of thing so please, cut her some slack, will you?"

"Sorry! I didn't know! Gee… _you_ cut _me_ some of that slack.", Roberto laughed.

"Oh my gosh! Those are my peers from the model management! Racel, I'll leave you with Roberto. Don't worry, he won't weird you out, trust me. See you later!", Cynthia waved off.

 _'Cynthia…why? I need your comfort here! I'm not comfy in this kinds of parties where people stare at me like I'm wearing the wrong type of prom dress! Cynthia!'_ , I am so panicking.

"Chill out. You don't have to worry about anything! Is it true that you've never been to these kinds of gatherings? Please, just be casual when talking to me. Please.", Roberto asked politely.

"Well, if you say so, then yeah, I'm not used to… _all_ this.", I waved my hand in the air.

"Seriously? Didn't your parents expose you to all this? Let me guess, only child?"

"No. I'm not one of _you_. I just came with Cynthia because she needed someone to be with. I'm not a princess, a noble, or even a rich person! I'm just a normal girl."

Roberto paused for a while before replying, "So what?"

"Huh?"

"Come on! Look! Punches!", Roberto cried, he's…kind of childish, and playful, but, anyway, I went along with it.

When we arrived at the table of punches, I saw the man who walked me to the lounge. The guy with silver hair! He was wearing…he's a prince as well?!

"Ed!", Roberto called out.

The guy looked and smiled, the same smile he had earlier. So it is him.

"Prince Roberto! Very nice to see you here! Oh. It's you! So, how was the dress delivery?", he said.

"Uhm…it went well, your highness, thank you again.", I bowed, still astonished of the fact that he's a prince.

The man laughed slightly, "I apologize. I didn't introduce myself earlier."

"You've met?", Roberto asked me in shock.

I nodded and told him what happened, starting from when Zain left until when the silver-haired guy left.

"This is Prince Edward of Charles.", Roberto introduced. "Ed, this is Racel Morgan, designer of Jeanne Pierre."

"I see. Pleasure to meet you."

Here we go again with the curtsey and the hand kissing, and me blushing in embarrassment and Roberto trying to calm me down. Ahh, great night, great night _. 'CYNTHIA! WHY'D YOU HAVE TO LEAVE? Help…'_

"Why don't we get some punch? I'll serve you Charle's specialty.", Edward called out and went to get some wine.

"Make sure you don't drink too much. It has a strong alcohol volume.", Roberto reminded.

"Yes, of course. Thank you for reminding me."

Edward came back with two different bottles of wine. I can tell from the look that one is red wine and the other is white.

"What will you choose? Red or white?", Edward offered.

"I think I'll have the white wine first, and if possible, may I have red as my next shot?", I stated.

"You think you can handle it? Women aren't very tolerable to alcohol.", a voice spoke.

"Oh…it's you. The lost girl.", another one said.

"You've met this commoner?!", another yelled.

We —Edward, Roberto, and I— all turned towards the voices. There I saw three more men wearing an equally extravagant attire. The other princes.

"Keithster!", Roberto greeted.

 _'Keithster? Prince Keith…prince of Liberty. And the other one is…'_

"Glennypoo!", Roberto added.

 _'Prince Glenn of Oriens! How could I not recognize my own country's prince. How stupid.'_

"Don't even dare call me such nickname.", a stern voice came from the guy with purplish hair.

 _'I guess that would be Prince Joshua of Dres Van. I heard that kingdom is full of strict rules and all that do's and don'ts.'_ , I thought silently.

"Aww, bummer.", Roberto replied smugly. "Joshua, you're always so…mean."

"Whatever.", Joshua replied. "What are you looking at?"

I didn't realize sooner that he was speaking to me. "Huh? Uh, nothing, your highness."

"What is a cheap girl like you doing here, anyway?", Keith asked.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, _cheap_? Excuse me? That was _so_ rude.

"Excuse me…?", I reacted.

"Hurt by the truth?", Joshua added.

I was about to burst, but they're princes, and I'm just a commoner. Even if I'm right, they have the power, I don't, I know I'm just a commoner, but I don't deserve to be treated that way, besides, they're princes, they should have a little bit more manners, even a commoner like me knows it,s wrong to speak of people that way.

"Hey, is that how you two grew up? Lay it off. She's a lady.", a voice loomed from behind the two princes. I recognized him immediately, Prince Wilfred, the crown prince of Philip.

"Prince Wilfred.", I whimpered.

He sent out a slight smile.

"Wilfred.", Edward greeted.

Prince Wilfred has this calming aura, when he arrived, my anger just melted, maybe because he stood up for me? No…that couldn't be it. Maybe because it was just his personality to be very calm and collected it can influence others.

"Prince Edward, good evening.", Wilfred greeted.

"Wilfred, why'd you suddenly stood up for _her_?", Glenn spoke, trying to recover the topic of me being a cheap girl.

"Glenn, aren't you way younger than all of us here? You're probably younger than Racel. How old are you Racel?", Roberto asked.

"I'm 21."

"See? Glenn, you're only 18.", Roberto snorted.

"So what?!", Glenn yelled in response.

"Prince Glenn. Decency please.", Keith joked.

"Decency? Excuse me, you're the one who started insulting _her_.", Glenn retorted.

The two princes were starting to heat up when Joshua intervened.

"Can you two shut up? You're acting like babies.", Joshua scolded.

"Hahaha! Joshua, always the proper one.", Roberto commented.

Suddenly, a face I actually know, comes into view.

"Arcel!", I called out.

He looked over and smiled, "Racel, looking good as always. Ah, your highnesses, a pleasant evening."

"Yes, likewise.", Edward greeted.

"Please excuse us.", I stated, dragging Arcel along with me.

"I have to be honest, I'm so glad to see you.", I sighed in relief.

Arcel chuckled, "Why? You were chatting away with the crown princes! Any girl would kill for that opportunity!"

"Yeah, well, not me."

I really hate it when I see the people I'm avoiding during a certain time.

"Racel, can I excuse you for a second?", Joshua stated, behind him was Roberto, smirking.

"Uh, of course, your highness. See you, Arcel.", I replied as I followed behind Prince Joshua and Prince Roberto.

"Was that your boyfriend?", Roberto queried.

I looked up at him in shock, "No! You must have had the wrong idea. He's an acquaintance of mine since we live next door to each other at a hotel."

"Ooh.", Roberto cooed. "Anyway, we dragged you because a certain someone has something to say."

"Uh, what are you talking about?", I asked.

"Yeah, Joshua, what am I talking about?", Roberto mocked.

Joshua paused in his tracks and turned to face me.

 _'Is he blushing?'_ , I thought _. 'Nah, it couldn't be. But his cheeks are red. Weird.'_

"Dance with me.", Joshua blurted out.

Roberto and I both looked up at him in shock.

"Sorry, Josh, I'm taking her to dance with me first.", Roberto exclaimed.

"Racel Morgan, I will take every response a 'yes', silence will be taken as 'yes'.", Joshua announced, holding his hand out to me.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?", I took his hand and I can't help but notice the smile that escaped his lips.

 _'He should smile more often. Really.'_ , I smiled to myself as Joshua led me to the dance floor.

I could feel angry eyes of women staring at me, and some of the murmurings from the crowd can't help making me feel bad.

"Don't listen. Just dance. You look great after all.", Joshua muttered under his breath.

I looked up and didn't realize how close our faces were. I instantly looked down and thanked the dim lights which helped hide my flushed cheeks.

The song ended too soon.

"You're a really bad dancer.", Joshua stated as he escorted me back to where the other princes were.

"Thanks, I appreciate it.", I replied in sarcasm.

"Come on, Racel, it's my turn to dance with you!", Roberto exclaimed as I was dragged, once again, to the dance floor.

The night has finally come to an end. I bid my farewell to the princes, much to my relief, and thanked Cynthia for all her help. I told Zain to send my best regards to Uncle Mike and all my thanks as well.

"Racel.", Edward called out from behind.

"Prince Edward?"

He walked up to me and smiled, "I had a fun evening with you and the other princes. At least let me walk you out?"

I smiled because of his kindness that seems to be unmatched by the other princes, "Thank you."

As we walked down the hall, Edward doesn't seem to be a prince. He doesn't give me the intimidating aura the others have had, and he is _so not_ rude.

"I apologize for their behavior…", Edward started.

"Ah. Yes. Hahaha. There's no need for that, I completely understand."

Just then, Keith and Joshua stood in the doorway where I was about to exit and forget about the evening I've had because it was clearly a dream. Roberto seemed to be scolding them of something.

"What's going on?", I whispered to Edward, but it seems he also doesn't know.

"Racel…I want you to be my private designer…", Joshua whispered as he turned around and looked at me in the eyes.

 _Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep_

"Of all the….ugh….", I groaned.


	2. Chapter 1

**The Royal Blood**

(A Be My Princess Fan Fiction)

 _Fan Fiction by : Animedaisuki_

 **Chapter 1 : Real Time, Big Time**

In reality, I was just dreaming. I know! It's a classic, so please spare me, I still have tons of projects at my hands. I really became Prince Joshua's private designer, I got to be his fake fiancee, but in the end, we parted ways, saying that I should focus on the dream that I worked hard for and in his current situation, he thinks I deserve better, but he promised to see me again once he's sorted things out. I don't know, obviously it wasn't a happy ending for us. NO. We. Don't. Have. A. Thing. Going. On. It was just…sad, I guess, because I became close with him and treated him like a friend…I don't know if he feels the same way. Hahahaha! Anyway, of course, I didn't waste your precious time making you read what had happened in my dream, I just wanted to refresh your memory, because, well…we'll see.

My alarm clock rang, and I awoke from my dream. It was a nightmare. I hated remembering _that_ night. Yes, it's tearing me apart, for goodness' sake!

 _Ring ring ring ring ring ring_

 _'Prince Roberto?'_ , I wondered what was wrong, he had to call me early. Yeah, Roberto, along with Glenn, became close friends with me. I have to tell you though, Prince Glenn and his butler, Yu, were my childhood friends when I was living near the castle, but we moved so I barely had memories of them, but it turned out that the sunflower pen Glenn gave me before I move, has a note in it:

 _I'll miss playing with you…I hope I see you again soon! Let's play again, ok?'_

 _Glenn and Yuyu_

Apparently, they came knocking on my door, with Glenn yelling at me:

 _"What the hell is with you?!", Glenn shouted as Yu tried to chill him off._

 _"Prince Glenn? What are you…"_

 _"Do you seriously not remember me? You idiot!"_

Well, that happened after I went back home in Oriens, you know when me and Joshua parted ways, blah blah blah.

"Hello, good morning.", I greeted Roberto over the phone.

 _"Racel! Please tell me you'll go tonight?"_

"Tonight? Where?", I asked, because I honestly have no idea what's gonna happen 'tonight'.

 _"Altaria would be hosting a party tonight and I expect you to be there! Glenn said you "were busy, but…please? Come on, come on."_

I wondered that if I go…what will I do if I see _him_ again? I don't know…

"Who'll attend?", I queried.

 _"Joshua won't be attending, he has a conference to attend in Dres Van."_

Among the princes, only Roberto knows what had happened, why I was too shy to show up. DUH! I don't know what I'd say to Joshua if he showed up!

"It's not that…well, a little, but…oh, alright. I'll go."

 _"Yes! Finally! I'll finally see you again! It's been so long! Glenn said you were too busy to even have coffee with him at the castle. Geez, you're working hard."_

"Hahaha! I have declined Glenn a couple of times when he offered to have a chat, but I agree sometimes because his little brother kept crying."

 _"Hahaha! When you get here later, tell me everything that has been going on with you over there! See ya!"_

"Sure."

I quickly prepared for work. Luckily, Jeanne Pierre stood up a branch here in Oriens and The Holy Land. Monsieur Pierre has been really busy going back and forth his branches, but he managed to stay here in Oriens and that would be for a month, then he'll go to his other branches and stay there for a month as well. Right now, I'm assigned to Oriens branch and later afternoon, I'll be heading towards The Holy Land branch. Another fashion line would be out and we are busy as hell, it's hard to make time for yourself at this time.

"I'm leaving, mom! By the way, I'll be going to Altaria this evening."

My mother peered out the doorway, "A party of Prince Roberto's?"

"Yeah."

My mother laughed, "You're really lucky to be close with those people. Be sure to be home in one piece, don't get yourself killed! Bye, sweetie!"

"Bye, mom!"

Ever since my job as a designer boosted, it became difficult for me to carry around sample designs while taking the public transportations. I managed to save up and buy myself a good car. I couldn't borrow my mom or my dad's because they use it everyday too. So they told me to get my own, and I managed to. It's my dream car to have a luxurious sedan when I grew up, so I bought myself one. It was worth the money but right now, I'm really gonna have to spend less…

I rode my car and drove through the highways of Oriens and arrived at Jeanne Pierre's office.

"Monsieur Pierre!", I called out.

"Ma chou! Just in time! Could you please take these designs to the make-up department? I've placed some of your approved designs on your desk, please have it checked for me darling, I know you have good taste, so I want you to choose the design that will suit the royals of Altaria for tonight's party! Thank you ma cherie!"

"Of course, Monsieur Pierre. Later!"

I took the sample designs to the make-up department, because today, we would be having our general rehearsals. I managed to talk to Uncle Mike if we could use his ballroom as our runway and he agreed! So later, we would be rehearsing over at Nobel Michael's Castle.

 _Ring ring_

 _Fr: Roberto_

 _Racel, I sent the invitation over at your address. Please bring it later at the party, oh and Keithster also sent some of the pastries he tried to make on his own. He said to have your family taste it because they know that kind of stuff and he wants a feedback this evening. See you later!_

I sent a thank you message to Prince Roberto and told my mom about the sweets that Prince Keith sent.

"Monsieur Pierre! These are the designs that I have chosen."

Monsieur Pierre quickly looked over the designs and said to have the actual clothes ready before lunch time.

I hurriedly took out the designs from the office's wardrobe and placed them on manikins so that it would clearly be seen by the ones to pick it up.

"It looks wonderful!", I squealed. Then I remembered that I used to do this all the time when I was in Dres Van, designing for the king and queen.

"Racel, are the designs ready? Lunch time's approaching!", Monsieur Pierre said.

"Yes, sir!", I replied. _'I wonder who's going to pick it up…probably Al.'_

"Prince Roberto?!", I yelled.

"Racel!", Roberto ran and gave me a quick, but tight, hug.

"Prince Roberto! Your highness, please, don't disturb the young lady from her work.", Al appeared from behind Roberto. "I'm sorry Miss Morgan, he insisted on coming along."

"Your highness! What an honor, please, do come in.", Monsieur Pierre greeted, leading them to the office's lounge.

"I apologize for the mess, your highness.", Monsieur Pierre bowed. "Ah, ma cherie, please show them the designs you've made."

"Of course.", I replied as I went to push the manikins in front of the lounge, assisted by my other co-workers for the other manikins.

Al's eyes beamed, "Very impressive as always, Miss Morgan. The king and queen would love it."

"What about me? Where's mine?", Roberto pouted.

"Prince Roberto, you have received tons of designs from the lady as requested, you have not even worn a single one! You will wear one of them tonight, your highness. That's what the queen ordered.", Al reminded.

Monsieur Pierre laughed, "My goodness, Prince Roberto."

"We would be on our way. On behalf of his majesty, I thank you dearly.", Al bowed in respect as he thanked.

"Wait, I wanna have lunch with Racel! Can you pick me up later Al?", Roberto interjected.

"But your highness—", Al muttered.

"Come on, we'll have lunch over at Glennypoos palace.", Roberto pushed.

Al sighed, "Miss Morgan, if you don't mind?"

"She doesn't mind!", Monsieur Pierre answered for me.

"M-Monsieur Pierre!", I stuttered out. "I guess it would be fine, then."

"Great!", Roberto chimed in.

Monsieur Pierre told me to take the day off instead saying that I've worked hard enough and barely had time for rest.

"Thank you, Monsieur Pierre. I'll come back tomorrow."

"Of course! I'll see you then!"

I went back to the lounge and found Roberto looking problematic. Al has left with the designs and left Roberto in the lounge, saying they'll pick him up after he finished lunch.

"Roberto?", I called out.

"We have a _huge_ problem…", Roberto explained. "We don't have a car to take us there. I forgot that we only brought one limo…"

"Oh. Well, if you wouldn't mind, I can drive us there.", I stated.

"You can drive? You have your own car?", Roberto gleamed in excitement.

"Oh, yes. I managed to save some money for it, please don't expect much. It's not a limo."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Roberto dragged me to the office parking, forgetting that I'm in my heels, I almost tripped down the stairs.

"Alright. Please wait here, I'll go get the car.", I walked over to the parking lot, but Roberto pulled me back.

"Wait! I wanna experience how to be a normal person too. I'll come along."

I laughed, "You are normal, Roberto."

"No, I meant was, you know, no driver to pick you up. Just, you walking to your own car. I've never experienced that because Al always makes me stay behind as the car just pulled up in front of us and I just ride it afterwards."

I felt sad for him, he doesn't get to experience these things that we normal citizens do. He is a prince after all. I let him come along with me.

" _This_ is your car?", Roberto stated. "It's amazing! It's a luxurious one too! And it's so clean!"

"Thank you.", I replied. I opened the car and sat on the driver's seat with Roberto beside me in the front passenger's side.

"I've never rode a car sitting in front. Never! Seriously, I should visit you more often to experience this."

I laughed, "Well, let's go. Please put on your seatbelt."

"Why?"

"Safety reasons."

I drove through the streets while Prince Roberto looked around the city of Oriens. He even stopped by the street to buy some charms for himself and his family.

"I got this charm for Al, because it says that this charm will help relax people at certain times."

I managed to stifle a laugh, "I'm sure he'd be _very_ happy."

Roberto laughed as he imagined Al scolding him about it.

"Oh, I almost forgot! I have to call Prince Glenn!", Roberto exclaimed and dialed Glenn's number, turning it on speaker.

 _"What do you want, Roberto?"_

"Glennypoo!"

 _"Stop calling me that!"_

Me and Roberto laughed.

 _"Was that Racel?"_

"Hey, Glenn!", I called out from the driver's seat.

 _"Oh, hey! Roberto, seriously, what are you up to?"_

"We're on our way to your palace. We're gonna have lunch there!"

 _"WHAT?! Hand Racel the phone, I need someone honest."_

"Racel's driving. You're on speaker anyway! She can hear you."

 _"Racel. Is that true?"_

"Yes, Prince Glenn. We're on our way there."

 _"WHAT?!"_ , Glenn stated louder. _"Are you kidding me right now? Seriously, you two. Fine, fine. Just hurry up a bit, lunch will be served in 15 minutes and my parents hate it when I come in late!"_

"Don't worry, we're in front of the manor's gates now."

 _"WHAT?! The hell? That was fast. That was too fast."_

"I'm driving, Glenn! What do you expect?", I called out.

Glenn ended the call just as the castle gates were opened, but before we were sent in, the guard came up to us and I rolled down my window.

"Ah! Miss Morgan! Pleasure to see you, and… Prince Roberto?"

"Hello!", Roberto greeted.

The guard seemed shocked, but managed a smile and let us through.

When we drove through the entryway, we saw Prince Glenn looking much agitated than usual. We parked our car under a shady tree at the side of the manor and walked up to Prince Glenn, and Prince Alan came along too.

"What in hell do you think you were doing?!", Glenn stated in greeting as Alan ran up to us in excitement.

"Sorry, Prince Glenn. You said to come over quickly…so…", I explained.

"Yeah, but I didn't tell you to come here _that_ quick. You could've been in an accident!"

"Yes. But we weren't!", Roberto smiled in return.

Prince Glenn sighed in defeat, "Racel, next time, please…try your best not to kill me at this young age."

I laughed, "Of course, your highness."

"Racel, let's play after we eat lunch, okay?", Alan pleaded.

"Sure, Alan. Prince Roberto would be joining us.", I stated.

Roberto added, "Your older brother would be coming too!"

"Excuse me?!"

"Yay!", Alan exclaimed in joy as he ran inside, saying to see us in the dining room.

"You two just can't stop…", Glenn sighed.

We walked to the dining hall and found the king and queen of Oriens, getting ready for lunch.

"Your majesties, a pleasant afternoon.", I greeted.

"Racel, welcome, welcome! Join us for lunch!", the queen greeted.

"You've grown to be a fine lady, my dear.", the king added. "Prince Roberto, a pleasure to see you."

"Likewise, your majesties. It's an honor to visit.", Roberto said.

Ever since reuniting with Glenn and Yu, the king and queen, couldn't help remembering the times when I was still younger. They told stories when Glenn, too, was a child, which annoyed Glenn to the max. Anyway, my family, though we aren't nobles, has a great relationship with the royals of Oriens due to the fact that Glenn and I were childhood buddies along with Yu. They even asked my father to design and take charge of the castle's renovation design, because my dad is an architect and thankfully, the renovation is already underway and going fast.

"How's your family, Racel?", the king asked.

"They're doing alright, your highness. Thank you for asking."

"Glenn has been really worried about you recently, he said you were very busy! He wondered whether you even take a time off.", the queen stated.

"Mother, please…", Glenn muttered. "Which reminds me…Racel, will you be going to Altaria's party tonight?"

I drank the cucumber juice before speaking, "Yes. Prince Roberto pushed me into it."

Roberto laughed, "She will, I made sure of it."

"Great. But you are definitely _not_ driving to the airport to catch your flight going there."

I almost choked, "Why not?"

"You drive like…Oh I don't know, like Satan's mistress. You raise hell.", Glenn explained.

The queen giggled, "Darling, she'll be fine. I'm sure she won't be reckless. She's simply quick at driving."

The king looked at the queen and muttered, "You drive recklessly as well, my dear."

"Yeah, mother. One time, we tried to let her drive around the city, a cop pulled her over. If she weren't a queen, she could've been dropped from her driver's license.", Glenn added.

"Sweetheart, a woman must always be in a hurry! Isn't that right, Racel?", the queen laughed.

"Indeed, your highness."

We finished lunch and Alan quickly pulled us out of the dining hall and led us to his playroom and we played all sorts of things: tag, hide and seek, and even push-Glenn-into-the-ball-pit game. Alan, got tired and sat down on the floor covered in soft carpet.

"Will Roberto and Racel come at the party too?", Alan raised a question at Glenn, who was still sitting in the ball pit.

"They will. You'll get to see them later.", Glenn replied kindly.

"Yay! Racel, Racel, will you be my princess tonight?", Alan queried, offering me a teddy bear holding a flower.

"Aww, that's cute.", Roberto commented and laughed.

"Alan, please…", Glenn called out.

Alan stuck his tongue out at Glenn, "Bleh! You're just jealous because she gets to be my princess."

"No, she won't. She's going to be with Roberto and me, not with you."

Alan looked like he was about to cry, so Glenn laughed lightly and ruffled Alan's hair, "Alright, Prince Alan. She gets to be your princess."

"That's right, Prince Alan. I'll be your princess!", I went along smiling, because Prince Alan was an adorable kid.

"Hooray!"

After a while, Alan asked for Prince Glenn to piggy-back ride him to his room, because he's feeling sleepy. Glenn carried him, which Roberto found worth posting on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and took a video to be posted on YouTube, much to Glenn's annoyance.

After leaving Alan in his quarters to take an afternoon nap, Glenn led us to the gazebo outside in the royal gardens.

"Racel loved going here when she was young.", Glenn recalled.

"I never knew you were fond of flowers, you should tell Prince Edward, maybe he'll send out a couple of flowers hahahaha!", Roberto joked.

"By the way, Racel, my parents said you need not book a flight to Altaria, they want you to board with us on the plane we'll be using.", Glenn reminded.

"Thank you, but that would be a huge imposition."

"It's not! My parents would love for you to be there.", Glenn countered.

"Racel says yes.", Roberto answered.

"Huh?!", I replied as Prince Glenn laughed.

After a few more minutes talking, Prince Roberto got a call from Al that he's already waiting in front of Oriens' palace entryway. With that, Roberto left, leaving me and Glenn to discuss our transportation matters.

"You really won't listen to me, huh?", Glenn sighed. "Fine, I'll come and ride with you to the airport."

"Whaaaat?", I replied.

"Don't 'what' me, Morgan.", Glenn exclaimed. "Just get dressed here in the palace. I'll make sure to teach you the proper driving speed. Go get your stuff that'll help get you ready."

"I already have them in my car. I picked them up before leaving the Jeanne Pierre's office, I thought about bringing them home and prepare there, but I guess, change of plans?"

"Change of plans indeed, you'll be preparing here so you can drive us to the airport and I can teach you to observe the speed limits.", Glenn stated and he took out his phone and pressed a number to be called.

 _"Hello?"_

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Morgan!"

 _"Prince Glenn, good afternoon. Did you need anything?"_

"No, uhm, I was going to tell you that if you don't mind, can Racel just prepare herself here in the castle?"

 _"Sure. As long as she doesn't make a mess, then it's fine."_

"Thank you, Mrs. Morgan!"

 _"Alright, have a nice day darling. Please tell Racel to come home in one piece."_

"I will, Mrs. Morgan, thank you. Enjoy your afternoon!"

Throughout the whole conversation, my eyes were bulging and my mouth just kept dropping.

"How the hell did you get my mom's number?", I asked.

"Oh, no. That was your pastry shop's number."

"You surprise me sometimes. How did you even know my mom would be there at this moment?"

Glenn laughed, "We always buy your pastries there, stupid. I tagged along once, and she gave me some cupcakes for free, she even told me and Alan that she'll always be around at this hour, so if we needed anything, we can call. You know, if we ever encountered a Racel-problem. You're parents are very kind, and nice, and they treat us like family, too. But you, on the other hand, are mean to me."

"Well, sorry, it's your fault I'm mean to you."

"Alright, alright, I'm kidding! But…please try to not treat me and my family as intimidating royals. Your family treats us like family, and we do the same, it's just that, you, yourself, kept pushing away. So come on…join us in the flight.", Glenn explained.

I really felt honored upon hearing what Prince Glenn had said. He made it seem like I'm part of their family as well.

"Alright, I will. Thank you."

"It's our pleasure and I'm sure Alan would be most pleased hahahaha!", Glenn said.

An hour later, Prince Glenn told me to get ready and walked me to the dressing room where some maids were there, waiting for me to arrive.

"Start preparing. You girls take a _long_ time to dress up.", Glenn said, laughing as he left me with the maids.

 _Meanwhile in Dres Van Kingdom_

"Prince Joshua, are you not going to attend the party hosted in Altaria?", Jan asked.

Joshua shrugged in front of his paperwork and said, "I have a conference to take care of, you know that, Jan."

"But Prince Joshua, you're well aware that the conference will end earlier than expected, you will still be able to catch up to the party.", Jan pressed on. "Miss Racel would be attending the party."

For the first time the entire day, Joshua looked up from his paperwork, "What?"

"Prince Roberto called and told me that Miss Morgan agreed to attend."

"I don't know, Jan…", Joshua whispered, brushing his hair off his eyes.

Jan reached for his pocket and placed a small wooded box on Joshua's desk.

"Racel left this for you before she left, she told me to give it to you when the time is right."

Joshua's eyes softened as he stared at the box and wondered what would be inside.

"Here, your highness, Miss Morgan must have missed to see this placed on her desk. This was your parting gift for her, Prince Joshua, she must have missed to see it. When you're ready, your highness.", Jan stated sincerely as he placed another box in front of Joshua, this time, the box is square-shaped and sized just right to fit Jan's inner coat pocket. Then, Jan left Prince Joshua.

Prince Joshua opened the parting gift Racel has left him with. Inside was a charm, the one Racel was talking about when Joshua asked her about charms in Oriens. This was the prestigious charm that Racel was talking about, and how she dreamed of having one for herself, instead, she gave it to Joshua as a _parting_ gift: the dangling symbol was a dove made of pure diamond which was sculpted skillfully, and it had amethyst gems for it's eyes, which resembled Joshua's. The string of the charm was the color of gold and when Joshua looked closely, at the back of the dove, his name was engraved. _Joshua Lieben_.

 _'She had it custom-made. This must have cost a fortune…'_ , Joshua thought. _'Stupid girl, she should've just kept this for herself…she shouldn't have…'_

Joshua looked deeper in the box and found a note folded behind the foam of the charm.

 _Prince Joshua,_

 _This charm is for you and I'm sorry if I wasn't the one to deliver it to you personally. To tell you the truth, I wasn't expecting any of this in my life. I wanted to be a designer, but I got more than that from you and your family. I apologize for being all new to your customs and for breaking a rule which resulted you being forced to pretend that a prince of Dres Van is engaged to a commoner. I've brought shame to you and your kingdom, but you still accepted me to work for you even if it was only a short time. I am truly honored, your highness. I hope this charm helps you obtain freedom your troubles, may it bring you peace of mind, heart, and soul, may it always keep you safe and bring you hope. You'll become the greatest king to ever rule, I know it, because you have this attribute that no king ever had, and that is having an open mind and following the things you think would be best for your kingdom. Dres Van is an exquisite and flourished kingdom, it is worth visiting and maybe someday, I'll come and see you again._

 _Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work as your private designer. Thank you for showing me the things I've yet to see. I will always cherish the memories I've shared with you, even the ones where you tell me that almost everything I do is against the law. I will never meet anyone like you, Prince Joshua. Thank you and good bye._

 _Racel Morgan_

"This girl…why won't you let me forget about you?", Joshua whispered to himself.

He absent-mindedly reopened his parting gift for her, the one Joshua asked the jewelry shop to personalize for him. Inside was a similar symbol, a dove pendant made of only the finest opal gem and golden lace. It reminded Joshua of how Racel always gives him hope, and that in life, being free is always the most valuable gift. Joshua was supposed to give this to Racel as a reminder for her to always have hope that they will see each other again, just as Joshua promised.

"Jan! Prepare my garments, I'm getting ready for the conference.", Joshua ordered.

 _Back at Oriens Kingdom_

"Finally! I thought I was gonna grow old waiting!", Glenn said in exasperation.

I came out of the dressing room wearing a maroon halter gown that was backless and had a slit that goes up to my right thigh. I matched it with silver accessories and a silver purse, with a pair of five-inch silver stilettos lined with Swarovski crystals on the straps. My hair? Well, I had it in an up-do.

"You look gorgeous.", Glenn complimented.

Although we're close friends, I couldn't help blushing at his statement, "Thanks, that was the nicest thing you have ever told me since we met."

"Honestly…do you even know how to appreciate? It's not common for girls to be friends with a prince, you know? So be grateful.", Glenn teased.

"I am, now hurry up, your parents left already! We should leave now."

I led Prince Glenn to my car and he, too, adored my car. It's like a guy's thing to know if a car is good or not. I guess it's the same with princes.

"Nice car.", Glenn said as he rode beside me in the passenger's seat.

"Thanks.", I replied, starting the car and driving off.

As we drove through the streets, Glenn was silent.

"Well? I'm a great driver, aren't I?"

Glenn looked at me and replied, "Yeah, I guess I judged a bit too quickly."

"You seem awfully silent, what's up?"

Glenn shrugged, "Nothing, it's weird having to ride a car this way, you know, I'm sitting at the front and a girl is the one driving. It feels…very normal. It feels, calm, no sense of intimidation, and you get this feeling like you're actually a real person. No hired driver, no butler, no need for you to feel so special. I like it. By the way, why are you driving barefooted?"

"I'm glad you liked it. To answer your question, my heels are bothering my driving, they're too high."

Glenn shivered, "I don't even know how you women work those heels. Pretty impressive, but never something worth trying for a guy. My feet will die wearing those scary things."

I laughed, "I know, they get pretty painful as time passed while you're wearing them. Anyway, we're here."

"You're just gonna leave your car here?", Glenn confirmed in shock.

"Yeah, I got a Park-and-Fly ticket. I can pay for the fee after I come back, it's safer this way."

Glenn nodded.

We both got out of the car and headed for the private plane used by the royals of Oriens. It's a smaller plane compared to your regular one, but the inside was heaven on earth. A fancy couch, huge curved television, and of course, fresh food. The king and queen are seated at the upper floor of the plane, I guess their part of the plane is even more luxurious than the lower floor, but all in all, it was majestic. Another thing, there are no flight attendants, the royal pilot and the butler are the only staff in the pilot seat, and a few maids have their own place in the plane.

The plane started and soared up. The flight only took us about an hour from Oriens to Altaria and as we landed, two limos were already waiting for us. One for the king and queen, the other for the princes and I. When we reached the manor of Altaria, Prince Roberto was there to greet us. The king and queen of Oriens went ahead of us to greet the royals of Altaria, and we were left with Prince Roberto.

"Finally! I thought you were going to message me and tell me you've changed your mind.", Roberto directed to me.

"Don't worry, my princess never fails me.", Alan commented, which the three of us thought was adorable.

"She sure doesn't, Prince Alan.", Roberto chimed in. "Anyway, welcome to Altaria! Allow me to lead you to the ballroom."

Upon arriving, guests were all around mingling. I guess this is how the upper-class do their parties. For us commoners, we usually play EDM and dance around, eat some chips and drink some cheap wine. Yeah. But I was never allowed to parties like that even if I'm not an upper-class.

"Hey, you.", Keith greeted.

"Prince Keith, great to see you again.", I replied with a smile.

In my shock, he smiled and said, "It's been a while, how've you been?"

"Great. Oh, my mother said your home-made pastries were delicious, and she said to tell you to lessen the sugar, it tasted too sweet than expected."

"Oh? Really? Hmm…I have to take baking lessons from your mom. Thank you, please tell her I appreciate the suggestion. Maybe I'll try and send some again tomorrow."

I smiled, "No problem, she's always at the shop anyway and she has more time on her hands."

"Great!"

Prince Edward and Prince Wilfred approached us, with Prince Edward handing out a glass of champagne.

"Racel, it's been quite a long time.", Edward stated.

"We thought we might not see you again.", Wilfred added.

"Yeah, I've been very busy lately. I apologize."

"Please don't try to steal my princess. She's _my_ princess!", Alan exclaimed.

"Alan!", Glenn scolded.

"We won't steal your princess, Prince Alan.", Wilfred said, bending on one knee as he ruffled the young prince's hair.

"Yes, please don't. I'll be very mad.", Alan said in a cute childish tone. "Brother, can I go to mommy?"

"Sure, Alan. Just make sure to behave properly.", Glenn reminded, then Alan ran towards the direction of the queen.

"You make such a cute older brother Glennypoo.", Roberto teased.

"Ugh, shut up, Prince Roberto!"

The party started and music was played, some guests took the dance floor and danced smoothly. Some were mingling with the kings and queens, the princes were all around me as we catch up to one another.

"You should see Racel drive, she drives like hell.", Glenn teased.

"I do not, Prince Glenn. You rode with me earlier and told me I drove alright!"

Glenn snickered, "Yeah, but you drive fast and you over-take a lot!"

"Yeah, and?"

"I'm just saying, you're a wild driver. That's all!"

"So you experienced riding in the front seat, Prince Glenn?", Wilfred asked.

"Yeah, it was exciting. I can see what the driver can see, and it felt normal, like, you're not someone special."

"Alright, alright! Racel, take us on a road trip sometimes, okay?", Keith joined in.

"Absolutely, maybe a week or two after the fashion show. Jeanne Pierre's selling a new line, will you be there to see it?"

The princes nodded in anticipation.

Then, the ballroom, doors opened, but no one paid any special attention since they were all too occupied, but me and the princes did. The ones who entered were the king and queen of Dres Van, and of course, Prince Joshua. I couldn't move, I stiffened when I saw him. Nothing much has changed to him for the last couple of months, he still looked intimidating, powerful, and hella serious. Our eyes met for a second and he walked towards my direction.

 _'Shit. What do I do? What do I say?'_ , I though in panic.

"Ah, Joshua!", Keith called out.

 _'Prince Keith, not helping!'_ , I yelled in my head.

I looked at Roberto and he simply shrugged, I glared at him.

"Please excuse me and Roberto for a while. We'll be back shortly.", I said to the princes then dragged Roberto by the arm and we headed out to one of the balconies near the punch table.

"This was not the plan.", I whispered loud enough for Roberto to take a hint on my nervousness.

"Definitely _not._ "

"You said he wouldn't be here!", I said in panic. "I don't know how to face him, Roberto!"

Roberto placed a hand on my shoulder and said, "Just talk to him. I don't think he'd appreciate being ignored, don't you think?"

I nodded nervously as I looked down and Roberto dropped his hand.

At the wrong place, at the wrong time, at the wrong moment, Joshua appeared at the balcony's doorway.

"Sorry, I must be disturbing something…", Joshua muttered, and left. But his expression, it was…Pained? Sad? Angry?

"We must've given him the wrong idea, go, this is your chance to talk to him, go!", Roberto said, it was almost an order, but I followed his instructions and searched for Prince Joshua.

"Racel, Prince Joshua was, unusually, looking for you.", Glenn said as I passed by the princes.

"Oh, was he? Where did he go exactly?"

Keith pointed towards the exit of the ballroom, so I assumed he went out.

"Thank you, I wonder what he wanted to tell me.", I stated as I walked out the ballroom.

I grabbed another glass of wine, so now I have two glasses, in case I actually ran into Prince Joshua. Then, in a dim lit balcony, there he was, leaning on the railings, staring at the moon, just like how he used to when we lived together back at Dres Van.

I didn't think he noticed me, so I spoke, "I thought coming in late was against the rules?"

Joshua turned around in surprise, and when our eyes met, he calmed down and regained his composure.

"I'm not in Dres Van.", Joshua replied.

"Yeah, but you said it's common sense to arrive at least 15 minutes early.", I retorted.

Joshua smiled sadly, "You haven't changed."

I handed him the glass of wine I picked up before leaving the ballroom.

"Here. It's a recommendation of Prince Edward's. I thought you might like it.", I stated.

He took the glass elegantly from me and took a sip, "Your taste in wine has improved."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"I didn't say—"

"It's written on your face…your highness.", I retorted back.

Joshua laughed, "You're really something. Fine, I'm sorry for being late, your ladyship."

I was silent and all our memories together came pouring on me, I didn't realize I was about to cry, but I managed to swallow up my sadness. It would be out of line if I tell Prince Joshua how much I missed him.

I tensed up when I felt his arms wrapped around my waist, his hand placed gently behind my head, making me lose control of my tears and made me sob on his chest.

"Please don't cry…not in front of me. Please. I don't like seeing you cry.", Joshua whispered, I can feel he, too, was holding back tears.

"Prince Joshua…"

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I didn't intend to hurt you when I asked you to leave. I'm sorry for not being there when you left…I know designing meant so much to you, but after my father declined the prize you won from the competition…it felt wrong. I'm sorry. I had to let you go. You deserve better…"

"Prince Joshua, there's a cat behind you."

Joshua leaped away from me and almost hid behind my back.

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha! That was so priceless coming from you, Prince Joshua."

Joshua frowned, "I'm trying to say something here, and you dare do that? I can send you to jail because that is clearly against Dres Van's law!"

I just laughed harder, "Prince Joshua…oh my God! Hahahaha!"

"Racel, seriously…"

After I calmed down, Prince Joshua spoke, "I have something I wanted to give you."

He reached in his pocket, but what he wanted to give me, I didn't see, because Prince Alan went in the balcony's doorway, pouting.

"What do you think you're doing?", Alan scolded at Prince Joshua.

"Prince Alan? What are you talking about?", Prince Joshua replied.

Alan stomped his foot on the ground, angry, "I told you, _never_ steal _my_ princess! She's _mine_!"

Alan took my hand and stuck his tongue out at Joshua. We didn't notice at first, but the other princes were watching from behind, stifling their laughter.

"I asked her to be my princess for tonight, so don't take her away from me! Stealing is against Dres Van's law, isn't it?", Alan fought.

Joshua was caught off-guard and replied, "Yes, but I'm willing to break it just for her to be _my_ princess."

"Prince Joshua…?!", I muttered.

"You don't get to be her princess because I'm already her prince.", Alan pressed on.

 _'Man, this kid's got spunk.'_ , I thought, smiling.

"Then I'll take her from you.", Joshua smirked, took my hand in his and pulled me gently towards him.

"You're really liking this aren't you…?", I asked in a whisper.

"Yup. The kid really likes you, which is nice, but…", Joshua started.

"But…what?"

Then Joshua smiled at me, " _But_ , Racel will always be my one and _only_ princess."

I blushed, thankful that it was dark.

"No! She will not! My princess will never let me down, right?", Alan looked at me for help.

I gave him some slack and said, "Of course. I will always be _your_ princess."

Joshua just smiled and Alan seems proud of himself.

"Well done, Alan, you saved your princess! Big brother's proud of you!", Glenn appeared at the doorway, followed by the other princes. Alan jumped in joy and ran to tell his parents he saved a princess.

"Uhm…Prince Joshua?", I muttered, looking at our joined hands.

Joshua looked up at me and blushed, "Oh. S-sorry." He dropped my hand gently and sipped the wine I handed him.

"Joshua has grown, I guess. Starting to have a way with women, I see.", Keith joked.

"But I have to say, you have bad taste.", Keith added.

My eyes widened in shock, "Excuse me?!"

"Okay! Sorry! I was kidding!", Keith replied. "Honestly, though, is there something going on with you two that I never knew about?"

Joshua and I both froze.

"N-No! Nothing!", I replied, but Joshua seemed too hurt about my honesty.

Prince Glenn, being close with me, placed an arm around my shoulder and asked to dance.

"Sure.", I replied happily.

I guess Prince Joshua wasn't aware about me and Glenn being childhood buddies because I _legit_ frowned at the sight of me and Prince Glenn together. He needs to chill, it was all pretend anyway! I may have fallen for him, but I have forgotten all about it when I left Dres Van.

"Prince Joshua, are you coming?", Wilfred asked before we leave the balcony.

Joshua looked over, passing his sight away from me and Glenn, "Maybe later, you go on ahead."

We went ahead of Prince Joshua and danced the night away. The party ended blissfully and me and Glenn went out together, laughing along with the other princes.

"Prince Joshua, you seemed off the entire evening, what's going on?", Roberto asked.

"Nothing.", Joshua replied.

Roberto pressed on, "Is there really nothing?"

Joshua was silent.

"Glenn, are you up for a late-night drive when we arrive home?", I asked.

"Why do you say his name without his title?", Joshua asked, almost too aloud.

Glenn and I looked at each other in curiosity.

"It's fine. I permitted her to.", Glenn stated flatly.

"Ah.", Joshua muttered.

When we arrived at the entryway of Altaria's castle, the other princes' limos arrived.

"Will you guys be okay? We'll go on ahead.", Edward stated.

Glenn, Roberto, Joshua, and I, were the only ones left.

"How will you go home, Racel?", Joshua asked.

"Me and Glenn will go together."

Joshua didn't reply after a few seconds, "I see…"

"Hey, how about we grab some coffee tomorrow? I'll pick you up at 3:00? Are you free?", Glenn offered.

Roberto looked up, "What about me?!"

"Prince Roberto, you have some stacked paperworks to accomplish!", Al, suddenly appearing behind Roberto, reminded out loud.

"Al! Don't just appear like that!"

"Sorry, but your mother requests for you to stay at the palace until you've completed all the papers due."

"Guess I can't come.", Roberto stated sadly.

"Prince Joshua, would you like to join us?", Glenn offered.

Joshua raised an eyebrow, "No thanks, my duties are top priority right now."

"Glenn, 3:30?", I asked.

"Sure, no problem. I'll drive, alright, so we don't get killed."

"No way."

Then, our ride came and we both bid farewell to Joshua and Roberto. As we boarded our plane, I received a text message.

 _Fr: Joshua_

 _Hey…please call me when you're home. I need to talk to you about something…_


	3. Chapter 2

**The Royal Blood**

(A Be My Princess Fan Fiction)

 _Fan Fiction by : Animedaisuki_

 **Chapter 2 : Friends? Lovers? Enemies?**

After our separation, Joshua and I have never _ever_ communicated. But now he suddenly sends me some text message that disturbs the hell out of me. Why would he want to talk to me? Why now? Like, what the hell?

I decided to not reply.

"Prince Glenn…what's going on with Prince Joshua?"

Glenn looked up from his phone, "Hmm? I don't know."

"What was he like when he was young?"

Glenn laughed lightly, "He hasn't change much. He was raised apart from his parents and he was only taught on how to be a proper ruler. At a young age, he was very proper and matured, he never liked playing around with us. All he does was read and read and read."

I laughed at the thought, then, another message was sent to me.

 _Fr: Joshua_

 _Are you mad at me?_

Hashtag ignored.

 _Calling: Joshua Lieben_

Declined.

 _Calling: Joshua Lieben_

"Hey, Racel, Joshua's calling you.", Glenn peered over.

I handed him my phone, "Please tell him I'm asleep."

"You don't wanna talk to him?", Glenn whispered.

"Just answer it for me.", I laughed.

"Prince Joshua."

 _"Prince…Glenn? Sorry, I must have called the wrong number."_

"No. This _is_ Racel's number. She's here, but she's currently asleep."

 _" Asleep? But you're—Sorry, what?!"_

"She's asleep."

 _"…She…you…sorry, I-I'll, uh, please tell her I called."_

"What did he say?", I asked after Joshua hung up.

"He said to tell you he called. I guess he thought something happened between us…?", Glenn replied, trying too hard not to laugh at Joshua's reaction.

"What? No…Hahahaha!"

Upon arriving at Oriens' airport, Prince Glenn rode with his brother at their limo and I bid them farewell as I drove my car back home. As I was driving, I decided to ring Joshua over my car's bluetooth monitor.

 _"Are you home safely?"_

"Yes, thank you for asking. I saw your message, Glenn told me you called…What do you wanna talk about?"

 _"What the hell was that about you and Glenn?"_

"What? Me and Glenn?", I laughed.

 _"Yes! You were so close! What the hell was that?!"_

"What about it? Prince Joshua! This is none of your business! You're not my fiancee anymore, well…you never were! It was all pretend! Glenn and I are just friends, but you're taking it way too overboard! That's not like you at all…"

 _Silence_

 _"Sure. Make it seem like I'm stupid. Racel…I saw the way you look at him! You never looked at me like that! So there's something!"_

"Prince Joshua…are you…jealous?"

 _"I'm not…"_

"Then why are you acting this way?"

 _Silence_

"Prince Joshua…?"

 _Silence_

"Prince Joshua."

 _"…Will it all be too late?"_

"What are you talking about?"

 _"The hope…to see you again. The hope for us…"_

"You saw me today…what…are you drunk?"

 _"No…?"_

"Prince Joshua."

 _"Call me 'Joshua', like how you call Glenn."_

"Sorry, I can't. That's against your laws."

 _"Is it…?"_

"Are you drunk? Do you even get drunk?"

 _"I miss you…"_

I didn't hear the last thing he said 'cause some stupid motorcycle almost bumped my side-mirror. He was also saying something after that but it was very muffled.

 _Honk honk honk_

"Watch where you're going!", I yelled inside the car, obviously, the motorist won't be able to hear it, but I gotta express my anger, okay?

"What were you saying, Prince Joshua?"

 _"I said I — you looked horrible…"_

"Ugh, all that shit but you were just trying to say I looked bad? Ugh, please, just…leave me alone."

I hung up on him, clearly he got drunk and is acting all stupid.

 _In Dres Van_

"She hung up on me…how dare she hung up on me?!", Joshua exclaimed.

"Your highness, I think it's best if you go and rest?", Jan said.

"No. She believed I'm drunk, I told her everything I felt! She wasn't listening."

Jan laughed nervously, "The drunk part was not a great idea, your highness. You will not be taken seriously. Also, if you really want to tell her how you feel…it's best to do it in person."

Joshua's eyes widened, "But that's what the book said! To act drunk and all that shit. Maybe there's more written."

Prince Joshua flipped over his collection of Guide to Being in a Relationship series.

"Prince Joshua, women appreciate efforts. It would break their hearts if you talk to them about something important, like feelings, over the phone, over messages, or anything related. I've been there, sir.", Jan continued.

"Ugh…she's being too hard!"

Jan laughed, "Have some tea, your highness."

 _In Oriens_

The morning flew in quick and in no time, I was typing away on my laptop, at my workplace, waiting for Glenn.

"Ma cherie, Prince Glenn requests for you.", Monsieur Pierre called out from his office.

I went to the private lounge and saw Glenn waiting along with Alan.

"My princess!", Alan ran up and hugged me.

"Sorry, he won't stop nagging me.", Glenn said, scratching the back of his head.

I laughed, "It's alright. Where do we go?"

"Just at the palace. Racel, don't forget, I'm a prince, I can't keep going out, I might get kidnapped or something."

"Right, right… as if the people of Oriens would care much about you."

"Hey! That is not a nice thing to say to a prince."

Alan kicked Glenn's leg, "Don't talk to my princess that way!"

"Alan!", Glenn hissed.

Siblings are fun to watch, especially if two princes were sitting in front of you arguing who's going to get a last bite of the chocolate cake. I finished coffee break with the two and headed straight to the office.

 _Calling: Mom_

"Mom! What's up?"

 _"Darling, your father and I are going on a trip. We'll be away for a while. Will you be alright?"_

"Of course. You should be happy, mom. Why do you sound so…worried?"

 _"Huh? No, dear! I am happy. Maybe I sounded worried because of the pastry shop! I'd have to leave it with the staff for a while…Anyway, are you going to be fine?"_

"Yeah, go and enjoy your trip! Oh my God! It's your anniversary next week, right? Well, make sure you have fun! Be safe, mom! Tell dad to get me some souvenirs! Hahaha! Bye, mom!"

 _"Bye, sweetie. Love you!"_

"Love you too, mom."

I wasn't aware that my parents would be going on a trip for their anniversary, but I shouldn't worry too much. They'll both be safe and sound. A vacation couldn't hurt, but it was all too sudden! Hmm…maybe they got themselves a cheap flight somewhere and they left me to deal with all the housekeeping! Housekeeping…? Oh man…

"Ms. Morgan, there's a delivery for you!", a co-worker informed.

"Thanks! I'll be right over!"

I went to the office's lounge and found a vase full of white asphodels. They looked lovely, and a perfect addition to my office table. Just to add a touch of calming color.

"Racel…?", Naomi, my best friend from work, muttered.

"Yeah? Look! Someone sent me flowers!"

Naomi gulped, "From whom?"

I never thought about the person who could have sent them, so I looked around the vase, the flowers, but the sender's name wasn't present. It was simply addressed to my name: _Racel Morgan._

I shrugged, "I actually don't know. But if ever I figured it out, I'd have to thank the person. These flowers are lovely!"

"Racel…do you even know the meaning when someone sends out white asphodels to a person?", Naomi asked nervously.

"They want the person to have a nice day?"

"No."

"Uhm…good luck?"

"No…"

I snapped my fingers, "I'll try and figure it out later, right now, I have to give some people a call. They could be anyone on my contacts list."

"Y-yeah…sure."

I left a worried-looking Naomi and quickly dialed my close friends, asking if they sent me the flowers. All said no. The princes?

 _With Prince Wilfred: "Sorry, I have not. Probably Keith?"_

 _With Prince Keith: "Why the hell would I send you flowers for no reason?!"_

 _With Prince Roberto: "Huh? Flowers? No, not me. Although I should have thought of that."_

 _With Prince Glenn: "As much as I would be willing to, no. Maybe Alan asked the maids to do it for him? Hold on…no, he said flowers can't express how much his princess means to him."_

 _With Prince Edward: "Apologies, my dove, I would never send out asphodels. They are my least favorite. If they were roses, bigger chance that it was me."_

I still argued whether I would call Joshua or not, after what happened last night. But for the sake of thanking, I did.

 _With Joshua: "No."_

Great! So much for flowers! Hmm…

"Hey, Naomi. I know what the flowers meant."

Naomi looked up, still worried, "What?"

"The sender wants me to figure out who sent it!"

Naomi smacked her forehead, "No, stupid!"

"I know! He or she must be missing me!"

Naomi massaged her forehead and said, "Racel, white asphodels, when sent to someone, means they want you dead!"

"Hahahaha! You're so paranoid, Naomi…Hahahahaha!"

Seriously, I found that hilarious because why would someone want me dead? I've never done anything wrong and I don't think I have enemies right now.

"Don't laugh! This is serious. If none of your friends sent it, who could have? Someone who knows you wants you to disappear, forever."

"Naomi, chill out. I'm sure the person doesn't know what it meant."

"Yeah sure, but if I were you, I'd be careful."

"Thank you for the concern, but seriously though, this person might be pranking me so hard.", I thought out loud.

Naomi sighed, "You're right, I'm too uptight. Not everyone knows the language of flowers. But still…asphodels are common during a burial or a wake…it's tradition! How could they not know?"

 _Ring ring_

 _Fr: Edward_

 _What flowers were sent to you again?"_

I typed 'White Asphodels'.

 _Fr: Edward_

 _Hmm…maybe it was meant as a prank. Or they are not aware that it meant 'death'. Please be careful though because white asphodels are flowers commonly given to a family grieving the loss of a loved one, during a burial or a wake, given to someone alive and well, it meant the sender wishes for your death. Maybe the person who sent it wasn't aware of that or it's not their culture. Anyway, just be alert._

I thanked Edward for his concern, but honestly, no one has ever held a grudge on me and I don't know anyone who would be aware of flower language. Well, except Naomi and Prince Edward. It's not a common thing for anyone to know flower-speaking. Weird, but whatever. Last week, a co-worker of mine thought that the he placed coffee creamer, but instead, as a prank, it was baking soda. Another time, Jeanne Pierre pranked Naomi by purposely spilling the drink he was carrying when Naomi bumped into him by accident, Naomi was so scared she might get fired. In the end, all were pranks and I am _sure_ as hell that someone from my office is trying to freak the shit out of me. Not gonna happen! I love flowers, I don't really care if they meant something else, but they add such beauty to my desk I couldn't resist placing them beside my organizers.

 _Ring ring_

 _Fr: Joshua_

 _Someone sent you flowers?_

 _Me:_

 _Yeah, white asphodels. They look very lovely on my desk._

 _Fr: Joshua_

 _Why would anyone give you flowers? Who was it from?_

 _Me:_

 _I don't know and I have no idea who sent them._

 _Fr: Joshua_

 _Secret admirer?_

 _Me:_

 _Probably._

 _Fr: Joshua_

 _I never knew you like flowers…_

 _Me:_

 _Very much, but my favorite ones are Halfeti roses._

 _Fr: Joshua_

 _Would you accept it if I sent some for you?_

 _Me:_

 _Yeah, but that would be too impossible. You? Send_ me _flowers?_

He replied no more. Joshua's always so mysterious, and surprisingly surprising. Send me flowers? I don't think that's possible because Halfeti roses were already endangered. You can only view them, I guess. I don't know. Joshua will never send me flowers! Maybe Prince Leonardo of Nervan will because he has sent some before! Prince Joshua saw them and said that he's allergic. Please…he just can't say he hates flowers as much as he's scared of cats.

 _Me:_

 _Prince Joshua, Halfeti roses are endangered, if you must know. They aren't allowed to be touched nor picked._

 _Fr: Joshua_

 _I won't send some. You said it's an impossible dream. I have no reason to send you flowers anyway! I'm busy right now, don't disturb me._

"What?! You're the one who messaged me first!", I yelled.

"You what first?", a co-worker asked.

I blushed in embarrassment, "N-nothing! I was speaking to myself. Sorry, sorry."

Joshua is really confusing me. First, he'll act nice and cool with everything and the next thing you know he's angry and scolding you! Like, how are you doing that, Prince Joshua? Do you secretly hate me ever since we've met? Or do we have an issue that I don't know about? Now I'm starting to suspect that you were the one who sent me the flowers. Maybe you want me dead! Great, great, now I'm starting to get mad.

 _'What if Prince Joshua really was the one who sent the flowers…?'_

 _'No…it couldn't be him…'_

 _'Could it…?_

 _'No, Racel, he wouldn't. Even if he hates your guts, which he does, ever since, he won't do such a thing. Right?'_

You know, right now, I was trying so hard to convince myself that Prince Joshua wasn't the one who sent them. I searched every corner of the vase, and every petal of the flowers. But nothing! I closely looked at the tag that held my name, but nothing! I decided to brush off some of the soil, paranoid, I know, but there was something underneath.

A note! But why would it be hidden under the soil? This is starting to get weird and annoying.

 _Fr: Unknown_

 _45 160_

Alright, who the hell writes these numbers that have no meaning?! Is this a joke?! Yeah, yeah, I know it's a joke, but can we be real for a second here? Whoever sent these flowers as a prank must be out of their minds. Honestly…I don't plan on wasting my time figuring out who sent these, as long as they're pretty, they stay on my desk. But in all fairness and equality, it's bogging my mind.

Office hours finally ended, women from my department were calling for a girls' night out tomorrow, since it's a Friday, and will continue until Sunday. Most of my peers are in the same age as I am, thus, we share common interests. We're still girls after all.

"Racel, are you gonna join us?", Naomi asked.

"Sure, why not? What time this Friday?"

"6:00 - 12:00. On Saturday and Sunday, we'll meet up at this restaurant, I forgot what it's called, but we'd have to be there by 5:00 in the afternoon, is that good for you?"

I smiled and shrugged, "Sure!"

I rode my car, but someone suddenly opened the passenger's side and rode it like it was nothing.

"Excuse me?! Who the hell are you to barge in my car like that?! Get out or I'll call the cops!"

The man who barged in my car took off his sunglasses and his beanie.

"Who the hell do you think you're yelling at?!"

"Prince Joshua?!"

"Yeah, stupid! Look, I can't walk around without a proper disguise. I'm a prince!"

I sat on the driver's seat, holding the steering wheel and just stared at Joshua in shock, "Are you insane?! You could've given me a heart-attack! How should I know you were someone I knew?"

Joshua shrugged, "You could've asked! HEY! I was standing near the entryway and you didn't notice?!"

I almost smacked my head to the dashboard, but for the sake of my life, I didn't, "Obviously I didn't! It doesn't work that way in the _real_ world, Prince Joshua…"

"Whatever, just drive us to the airport, the royal plane of Dres Van is waiting."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm taking you to Dres Van. I think I need to sort some things out for you."

"Is this an apology? No. I have a night-out to go to tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after the day after tomorrow. I'll just drive you to the airport, but I won't board the plane."

I revved the car and quickly drove out of the parking lot and through the highways of Oriens.

"Racel, slow the hell down!", Joshua shouted. "What the hell is wrong with you anyway?!"

"Nothing…", I muttered.

"Watch where you're swerving at!", Joshua exclaimed. "'Nothing'? What do you mean 'nothing'? It's obvious that there's something! Just tell me what's wrong! Are you mad at me? Are you stressed? What?! I want to help you! Just tell me what's wrong!"

"…", I didn't say anything.

"Racel!", Prince Joshua cried out, just in time as we parked in the airport.

"Fine! You wanna know what's wrong? You wanna know what the hell my problem is?! You! You're my problem! You offered me a job to be your family's private designer, then suddenly you come in my room telling me it's best if I leave?! Tell me, _Joshua_ , how is that something to be happy about? I loved designing for your family! And I still do! It was just all too painful to accept the fact that _you_ , Prince Joshua, want me to leave, facing the reality that I felt like I've got to know you better, and vice versa and I fucking believed you when you told me you'll support my dream."

"We can't keep pretending that we're engaged! I had to let you go! You deserve to be free from that problem because it was just an accident and I know that for myself!", Joshua retorted.

"I could have paid the fine on my own, your highness! It was not my idea to pretend we are engaged! You could have just given me a few months to pay for the fine! If this was about the king rejecting my prize in winning the competition I entered, then let me clear it out, I completely understand! That was not something I was holding a grudge on!", I replied.

Joshua fell silent.

"You broke my heart when you asked me to leave your kingdom because you think it was for the best. You paid my fine, meaning you really want me to leave for good.", I continued. "I thought you supported me in my dream, you said you do! But then you were the one to tear that apart."

"You're impossible. Why are you making it so hard for me to apologize to you? And I can't believe that for a second, when we were together, I thought I was in love with you!", Joshua yelled.

I sighed and replied bitterly, "Yeah, I felt the same way, but I guess the feeling of falling in love is different from the feeling of being thankful for all your help and support."

I got out of the car, and before closing the door, I said, "You didn't even say good bye." Then I slammed the door.

Joshua got out and closed the car door, surprisingly calm, and replied, "Are you coming with me or not?"

"I am.", I replied coldly. "It's not like I have any other choice…"

When we boarded the plane, Jan was at the doorway.

"Jan! Long time no see!", I called out.

"Miss Morgan, pleasure to see you again! Please, make yourself at home."

"Thank you, Jan."

The flight has been extra quiet between me and Prince Joshua. I was mainly focused on my phone, trying to distract myself. Out of the blue, Joshua handed me a glass of wine, although silently. I muttered 'thanks' in return, just to not be too rude. Well, I chugged the glass of wine in one drink, which, Joshua thought was surprising, because I saw his eyes widened as I finished the glass of wine in one go. Joshua knows I'm not very tolerable to alcohol, but ever since parting with him, my tolerance has improved…a lot, actually.

"If things go well, can I leave afterwards? I have work tomorrow.", I stated as I stare at the city of Dres Van as we descended. I waited for Joshua's reply but it didn't came. Upon our descent, the limo was waiting near the plane's doorway, so as we went down, we immediately rode the limo to Dres Van's royal manor. Of course, it was a silent ride. It's already 8:00 p.m. and I am expected to come to work at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow. I sure hope this won't take too long.

I followed Prince Joshua and Jan into the familiar halls of Dres Van manor. Judging from the route we took, we are headed for the throne room. Check, check, check! Racel's female intuition is right again! As usual.

"Prince Joshua, why are we here?", I asked.

"Father, as ordered by my mother, requested for you to be here."


	4. Chapter 3

**The Royal Blood**

(A Be My Princess Fan Fiction)

 _Fan Fiction by : Animedaisuki_

 **Chapter 3 : A Taste of Forgiveness, the Gift of Hope**

I silently followed Joshua and Jan as we entered and faced the king and queen of Dres Van. I bowed in respect, and said my greetings. The king seemed happy about my improvement in mastering their customs.

"Your majesties, to what do I owe this pleasure of coming here?", I greeted formally after bowing, Joshua looked over in surprise.

The king cleared his throat, "Miss Morgan, I believe I owe you an apology…"

I already knew the reason behind it, and I was right, it was about the king's rejection of my prize when I won the designing competition.

"Your grace…if this was about the rejection of my prize, then there's nothing you should worry about."

"I'm truly sorry, my dear. I know for a fact that you have quite an eye for fashion designing, and I never expressed my appreciation much, but as my queen has said, you have, without a doubt, great talent. I became too selfish because during that time, you have on your shoulders, the name of Dres Van, considering the circumstance that you and Joshua were in. I was blinded by the fact that you were engaged to my son, and forgot that you are also a designer with unique abilities. I apologize dearly. If there's anything in my power—"

I can't help smiling when the king has said those things. In truth, I never held an anger because he rejected my prize, I was in a situation where their name was on the line, and as their designer, it is also my duty to respect their customs. I understand and I was never angry, I admit that I felt sad, but I soon overcame that with the reality that I am shouldering their name.

"Your highness, compensations are not necessary. I truly appreciate your sincere apology, sir, but the truth is, I completely understand, even before.", I replied kindly.

"Thank you.", the king smiled. He smiled! For the first time! He smiled!

"Keep holding on to that dream, young lady, you have great potential. Maybe at the right time, I'll have you and Joshua engaged for real.", the queen giggled.

"Mother—!", Joshua started.

"Joshua, my dear, the engaged part was a joke. Racel wouldn't want to marry you. Heavens! You don't even believe in love!", the queen stated.

The king laughed lightly, "Joshua, if you would want to marry her, I won't hold you back any longer, but it seems that _you_ , my son, are not ready. You're mother is right. You never believed in love."

"But I—", Joshua started, blushing.

"Now, now. Racel must head back home. She still has things to do, I believe. You're welcome to have dinner first, my dear, before Joshua takes you back to Oriens.", the queen declared.

Jan escorted us out of the throne room and left me and Joshua alone afterwards. We ate dinner silently and Prince Joshua asked me to follow him. Where? I don't know.

"Prince Joshua, where exactly are we going?"

"Just shut up for a while and keep walking."

Joshua stopped at a very familiar place. The Royal Gardens. I remembered when me and Joshua danced under the moonlight and that moment, I thought everything was perfect.

"Why are we here?"

"I'm sorry.", Joshua whispered, his back still facing me.

"Your highness, let's forget about everything that has happened, forget about me and forget we even knew each other. It's cheesy and it's such a common ending, but it's better if we end it that way. Let's leave everything in this place, the place where everything started."

This time, Joshua was now facing me, and the expression he's wearing just pains me a hundred times than before. At least we can finally get some closure. I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the worst to come.

"Racel…", Joshua started. He seemed to be trembling at this point, apparently, he holds back so much tears.

"Prince Joshua, if there's anything you'd like to say…please let it out."

"Saying good bye won't help us through _this_.", Joshua said in frustration.

I stayed silent, trying to listen to what he has to say.

"Racel, we can never say good bye. If you're friends with the crown princes, then almost all the time, you'll see me. You'll hear my name, you'll hear the stories about me."

I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to hide the fact that I'm equally hurt as he is. Of course I'm failing at it, what do you expect?

"What are you trying to say exactly?", I asked.

Joshua brushed his hair, placing his hand in his pocket, "All I'm saying is that I still believe…"

I raised an eyebrow in question, "Believe…what?"

"You get the point already, why are you making this so hard for me? I'm trying here!", Joshua complained.

"Prince Joshua, you're not trying, you are _whining_."

"All I'm saying is that I think _we_ deserve another chance. Another chance to…start over. We never had a good meeting and I never treated you well enough. Maybe…you thought I wasn't a good person…"

I laughed a little, "Prince Joshua, you may seem mean to me most of the time, but you're kind in your own way. It's just…you don't like being too expressive. I never thought of you as a bad person…the truth is, you're actually nice, especially when I got to know you a little more. I'm sorry if I ever disappointed you or hurt you, but I think we're not fated to reunite, it just won't be the same anymore."

Joshua's shoulders slacked and his eyes are starting to water, just like mine.

"A-are you…is this good bye? Are you actually saying good bye? You don't believe in the promise I made?", Joshua was starting to get _real_ frustrated.

"I can't live my life hoping, Prince Joshua. I can't wake up everyday holding on to a false hope!"

"Then what the hell was this for?! Tell me! If you were gonna say good bye in the end, what's the damn point of giving me this?!", Joshua exclaimed.

He pulled from his pocket the charm I gave him as a parting gift.

"That was for the times I still believed and hoped because at one point, I thought of you as one of the most significant people in my life.", I whispered.

Joshua looked down and whispered, "You changed me for the best…you opened my mind, my heart. I don't think there would be anyone else who could have done it other than you…"

I looked up at the moon: bright and full, the same from when me and Joshua were under the moon, dancing and happy.

"I thought that I could keep living my life the same way, because when I haven't met you, I thought I was better off like this: alone, distant, and focused on succeeding the throne. But I was wrong. I need you to live a real life, you showed me things that no one could.", Joshua muttered. Clutching the charm tightly.

I breathed deeply.

Joshua continued, "I've read the letter that came with the charm. Earlier…you were asking me to forget everything, but I can't do that because you keep giving me something to remember from you! It's hard to forget the person who taught me how to become a real person…"

"You don't have to remember who I am. Keep with you the things you've learned, that's the only thing you need to keep going, Prince Joshua. I'm sorry, but this is good bye…"

I bowed and turned around to leave, it's painful as hell because my heart knows I never wanted to say goodbye. A part of me wants Joshua to just let me go…but…

"Racel Morgan, don't leave.", Joshua stated in command, which surprisingly made me stop in my tracks. "Don't even dare turn around."

I felt Joshua walk closer and stopped a feet behind where I stood. He didn't speak, he didn't make any sort of physical contact with me. He stood there, silent. His breaths were unstable and I felt that it was him, crying.

"Please…Believe me when I make a promise…I may not deserve you now, but I'll do everything I have to do just for me to deserve a perfectly imperfect person like you.", Joshua said in his tears, his voice cracking.

I felt something tingle my neck. When I moved my hand, I looked down and saw Joshua's hand gently brushing my shoulders as he placed a necklace around my neck. A golden necklace with a dove pendant made of opal.

"I was supposed to give this as a parting gift, but instead, this would be a symbol of my undying promise: That I will do everything to become a person worthy of being with you."

That was it…I released all the anger, the sadness and sorrow, the grief, the hurt…I realized that I've been holding these tears longer than I ever imagined. I was trembling…I was shaking…it was the other way around…it was _I_ who doesn't deserve him. I felt Joshua wrapped an arm around me and turned me around to face him. I sobbed on his chest as he placed his head on my shoulder. Turns out that the one who made me cry was the only one who can make me happy again. I knew that deep down…I still believed in him. In his promise. I still wanted to believe…

"Prince Joshua, I'm sorry…I'm sorry."

"Shhh. It's okay…I'm the one who should say sorry."

 _Silence_

"I'm sorry, Racel."

"You owe me a box of tissues and some remedies to remove colds."

Joshua laughed, "I know…my princess…"

I smiled a real smile, "Prince Alan won't be too happy if he hears that."

After months since parting with him, I felt really happy. Joshua's the only one who can make me feel like this without having to do so much. We stayed like that for a while, afterwards, he led me back to the limo and assisted me to my flight back in Oriens. I'm glad to have reunited with Prince Joshua, this will be a new beginning once again. A new chapter of my life.

"I'll see you soon, Prince Joshua.", I stated, waving him good bye.

"Don't dare make my eyes water so much…it's annoying!"

"You mean 'cry'?"

Joshua smiled, "Yeah, yeah! Just go home already, I need some sleep too! It's 10:00 p.m.! When I get back home it'll be 12:00! I still have a meeting to attend with my parents tomorrow!"

I laughed and walked towards my car and drove home leaving behind the heavy feeling in my chest and lifted my head to face a new start.


	5. Chapter 4

**The Royal Blood**

(A Be My Princess Fan Fiction)

 _Fan Fiction by : Animedaisuki_

 **Chapter 4 : The Family Picture**

It has been a week since my parents left for their vacation, and they're not yet back. At the same time, it has also been a week since Prince Joshua and I fixed our…"argument". If it was ever an argument. It was complicated. Anyway, everywhere I go, even if I'm only at home, I managed not to remove the necklace Joshua gave me. It was beautiful so I just had to wear it. I only take it off when I bath, and when I sleep.

I'm currently at Nobel Michael's castle with some of my co-workers including Monsieur Pierre. Tonight would be the official fashion show of Jeanne Pierre's new line so we're here to prepare and double check _everything_. I was busy reviewing the back-up plan for the back-up plan of the back-up plan because we can't mess this up. This would be the biggest fashion show Jeanne Pierre has ever held in years. It has to be _perfect_.

"Racel!", Monsieur Pierre called out from the runway.

"Yes, Monsieur Pierre?"

He placed his hands on his hips and said, "We have a problem…"

"Sir?"

"The stage is too basic, darling! We need a summer feel! A vibe fitting for summer season and that is the theme for tonight! We only have the basic black runway! Darling, take care of it for me please!", Monsieur Pierre declared.

My eyes widened, "M-me?! But, sir—"

"Thank you, ma chou! I expect something by the end of the afternoon."

 _'End of the afternoon? So around 5:00 p.m.?! That's three hours from now!'_

 _'Dad! Of course! He's an architect so he must know something!'_

I went out of the castle and walked down the streets for some fresh air, and probably for inspiration as well. I ringed my dad, I know he and mom are in a vacation, but I am desperate.

"Dad!"

 _"Yes, dear? Are you alright?"_

"A little. I need a but of help."

 _"About what?"_

"I'm not in danger. It's about work."

 _"What about work? You got fired?"_

"Dad, no! Jeanne Pierre would be holding the biggest fashion show it ever did. The summer collection! But our runway doesn't fit the theme!"

 _"Why don't you add some summer décor? Like seashells, or pool floats? How much more time do you have?"_

"At least three hours…"

 _"Well…I was thinking to have your runway shaped and looked like a cruise ship but that would take too long."_

"The background of the runway, where the models would be coming from is already designed like a ship, but the main runway is the problem."

 _"Ah. Decorating it would be too over used. Hmm…I can contact some contractors and have them built a glass runway, we have some scrap glass that the office wouldn't need. How's that?"_

"That would be awesome, dad!"

 _"Great, where are you exactly?"_

"Nobel Michael's castle."

 _"Oh? Then it's perfect! The contractors can deliver it immediately! They're base office is near there. I'll call them for you, dear, it'll probably take them 15 minutes to get there, and at least two hours to set up the glasses. No worries, these glasses were the ones from the huge windows, that good?"_

"Thanks, dad!"

I was grinning like a mad person, but I didn't care. I was so relieved! I thought it was gonna get ugly! Just then, a limo stopped beside me and had it's window rolled down.

"What are you smiling at? You looked crazy from afar."

"Prince Keith?! Hey, that was so rude."

Keith laughed, "Yeah, yeah. What are you doing walking and smiling by yourself? Don't you have work to do?"

I huffed, "I do. I'm on my way to get some supplies, thank you very much!"

"Sheesh! You get angry _way_ too easily!", Keith rolled up the window and got out of the limo.

"What are you doing? Gonna walk all the way to Nobel Michael's?"

"No, idiot. I'm coming with you."

"Sure, sure. WHAT?! NO WAY!"

Keith raised an eyebrow, "Why the reaction? Why? Would you rather have Joshua come with you?

"What?! No! A prince can't walk! I mean, you can walk, but…you get the point!"

Keith shrugged, "I don't. If I get kidnapped, it's gonna be your fault anyway, so…"

I was ready to yell at him for saying something stupid, but he spoke ahead.

"Alright! Shut your mouth! I'm just kidding! I already had the limo go straight to Nobel Michael's so you have no other choice! I'm going. You're still a girl."

"So what?"

Keith walked ahead, "Even though you're not my type, because you're so mean to me, some assholes may find you… _attractive_."

"When you said the word 'attractive', it sounded like an insult."

"Thanks, now let's go. Where the hell are you going anyway?"

"To the warehouse—"

"See?! Girls can't go to a warehouse alone! Common sense, stupid!"

After a few short minutes, we finally managed to talk to the contractors and schedule the materials to arrive in thirty minutes. In no time, I was walking back to the castle with Prince Keith.

"What are you doing here anyway, Prince Keith?", I asked.

"Do you even use that brain of yours? I'm here for the fashion show."

"Why so early?"

Keith sighed, "The other princes said to have some tea together."

"Well, it's not my fault you missed your tea time. Just saying."

"I never said it was your fault anyway. Whatever, just hurry up so I can catch up. We talked about meeting up at 3:00, so I missed almost thirty minutes."

We arrived at the castle and Prince Keith decided to drag me to the castle's gardens to hang around with the princes. I was against the idea, but…

"That's an order, Morgan."

Well, I got no other choice.

"Racel! I knew you'd be around!", Roberto called.

"Yeah, I wasn't supposed to be here, but you know…", I stated, glaring at Keith.

"Stop glaring! Gosh! I went with you to wherever that place and this is how you thank me?"

I rolled my eyes, "That was not my choice."

Keith laughed, "Whatever, meanie."

I shook my head and laughed, catching Joshua's eyes for a brief moment and I sent a smile, which he returned. My phone vibrated and I pulled it out of my pocket.

 _Fr: Dad_

 _The delivery of the materials is on its way. Good luck sweetheart!_

 _Me:_

 _Awesome! Thanks, dad!_

"You text with your father?", Prince Wilfred said in shock. "Sorry, I didn't mean to look but I saw the contact name from afar."

I nodded. "Yeah. Isn't that the usual thing we do?

"No way I would text my father, he's not always on the phone.", Keith stated.

"Well, it's something we normal citizens do. I mean, we don't have all those luxuries you get. Normally, we don't have a driver, because our dads drive for us. Sometimes our moms if our dads are busy. At the right age, we get to drive for ourselves."

"Your dad drives you to places?!", Joshua querried.

"Yeah. I guess it's a really different world for royals.", I laughed.

Roberto pouted, "My dad never drives me. I wanna be normal too!"

"Sounds fun, right?", Glenn added.

"Oh. It _is_ exciting! Some nobles give up their titles just to live a normal life, you know?", a voice followed up.

"Uncle Mike!", I greeted.

"Hello, my dear."

The princes stood up in greeting.

"Nobles and royals giving up their titles? That's impossible.", Keith laughed.

"Yeah. That's crazy.", Edward added.

Nobel Michael nodded, "Indeed, but some did it!"

"Are you serious right now? No way, hahaha!", Roberto stated.

After a while, I excused myself shortly, promised to get back soon, and went back to the ballroom to instruct the workers on what to do with the runway. I told them to place the glass pieces to form a runway like shape. Afterwards, as promised, I went back to the gardens.

"Hey, Nobel Michael's going to give us a tour at the halls of royals.", Joshua said.

"Halls of Royals?"

"It contains the family pictures of the royal families in every kingdom for the past 5 years.", Joshua continued.

"Is that so? Seems fun."

Joshua looked down on my neck and for a brief moment, I thought I saw him smile, "I see you're wearing it."

"Yeah.", I stated, but I was too ashamed to admit that I wear it daily except sleeping and bathing.

"It…looks great on you…", Joshua muttered, blushing.

I smiled, hiding my red cheeks, "Thank you."

The other princes looked at me and Joshua as we share a smile.

"Sorry, Josh, you ain't taking away my best friend just yet.", Glenn stated, making me laugh and Joshua raise an eyebrow.

"Since when were we best friends?", I laughed at Glenn.

"Since you were an ugly, stupid, child.", Glenn retorted, leaving me with Joshua again.

Joshua looked down as we walked behind the others.

"You two are close.", Joshua muttered.

"Yeah. Childhood…"

I guess I didn't notice but the princes were wearing an unusually casual attire. Polo shirts with rolled-up sleeves and some jeans and sneakers. How nice, they seem like the average teens these days.

"Hey, Prince Joshua."

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever had your own dream to be something like: an engineer, architect, doctor, or something?"

"No. Growing up in a royal family is different. We were raised to dream of becoming a king. No other occupancy was opened up to us. We were raised like that. Duties of a prince, duties of a king. It was, for us, the normal thing."

"I actually feel sad for you…"

"What? Why?"

"You don't get to enjoy much, I guess."

"We do! We all go to a private beach, camp out there, and some other things."

I thought that maybe they're kind of fun is not _our_ kind of fun. I thought royalty was so perfect, I guess they, too, lack happiness and experience.

"You said living a normal life is fun, why don't you show me that?", Joshua stated.

"Sure, maybe some other time, though."

"Hmm? Why is that?"

I laughed, "I have a fashion show to perfect. And you, your highness, aren't allowed."

"That's true."

We stopped in front of a ceiling-high door.

"We're here! You're about to see your great-grand parents' parents!", Nobel Michael announced. He opened the door and revealed a vast room. On the center was a red carpet and on the walls on the sides hung the photos of _all_ kingdoms. Some…I've never heard of.

"Ah, here. Queen Cella, she ran away from the castle, and only came back on the day of her 18th birthday.", Nobel Michael narrated.

"Nobel Michael, who's this?", Wilfred pointed to a photo on his right.

In the photo stood a king, beside his throne. But unlike the other photo, this one doesn't contain any other family member. Nobel Michael looked with a dark aura in his eyes.

"King Aston, the younger twin of King Aidan. He succeeded the throne after his older twin died of a heart disease three years after his coronation of kingship."

"King Aidan ruled for only three years? What about his heirs?", Roberto asked.

"Good question, Prince of Altaria, but unfortunately, King Aidan did not get to marry. King Aston, on the other hand, married a non-royal lady, but she gave up the crown.", Nobel Michael continued.

"Why?", I asked.

"Since the reign of King Aston, he believed that having a girl for a child is bad luck for the royal family. He wanted to have his own daughter given to the orphanage instead."

"That's too cruel…", Edward muttered.

"Because of that, the queen stepped down of her throne and took their daughter with her to live a normal life. The king remarried to Duchess Emilia, who was the girl his parents want him to marry, but instead married the non-royal lady."

"So…he has no heir?", Glenn asked.

"Oh, but he does! On King Aston's first marriage, he had two children. The first is a boy, soon followed by a girl. His second marriage was not as intimate as his first because he simply remarried to have someone sitting on the queen's throne. It was a very difficult task not having a queen. His son, I believe, is secretly looking for his mother and sister."

"So…the queen and the princess may still alive?", Wilfred asked.

"Of course! King Aston is closely aged to your parents! His son, by now, is around 23 years of age, the daughter would probably be turning 22 this year."

"He's our age? Meaning the king and the queen's…", Roberto stuttered.

"Indeed! It happened sometime before! You're parents never tell you their story, huh? Well, King Aston had this picture taken when he still wasn't married, it wasn't updated because he disagreed on taking a photo with his son and new wife. I don't know…he's a weird king, huh?"

We walked towards the end of the room and in the center was Nobel Michael's family.

"You have children, Uncle Mike?", I asked in shock. I guess the princes were as shocked as I am because they also looked curious.

"Why, yes! My only daughter, Emerald, she was one of those rebel princesses who ran away, but this little girl…well, she came back…but not for the crown. She came back to step-down of her title. No one recognized her anymore, and I almost thought she was only a tourist, but she has a proof that she's my daughter. Anyway, she stepped down and said that she wanted to live normally. She got married, and had a child. I was there, but it was a secret marriage, only between me, the couple, and her husband's parents."

There, beneath the frames, on a golden stool was the crown of the late princess, enclosed in a glass box. It was around three inches in height and was studded in diamonds except for the center gem which was an emerald gem.

Glenn laughed, "Racel, you look just like Princess Emerald when you were young. You're the runaway princess aren't you?"

"That's impossible, the princess married and has a child already, Glenn!"

"Maybe you're much older than we expected! You're hiding something aren't you?", Keith investigated.

 _'For God's sake…I am not a princess! I'm my parents' princess, but I'm not an actual princess!'_

"You're being ridiculous right now.", I snorted at Keith. "Uh, please excuse me, I have to check on Monsieur Pierre."

I came back to the ballroom, and it had been an hour! God, I wonder what's going on.

"Miss Morgan!", the worker said.

"Is everything going according to plan?", I confirmed.

"We have a problem.", the worker started. "The runway lacks two more glasses for the walkway of the models. We need two more glasses to completely cover the top part. We only have one glass left."

"Well then, get two more of those kind, please!", I requested.

"I'm sorry, but these were all we have…"

No. No. No. No! There is no way! Wait…there _is_ a way. I've been seeing these walking on the water thing, and…YES.

"Actually, this is okay. Just please place the last glass at the center, make sure it would be placed three inches deeper inside the glass box. That would make the entire walkway of the models. I plan on putting water inside this glass container and have the water an inch higher than the glass walkway. Oh, let's put some aquatic décor inside this runway like sand and some aquarium décor, live fishes if you have to.", I requested.

The worker smiled, "Of course, miss. This might actually work."

"Thank you so so so much!"

It was quicker than I expected. We have 30 minutes more before the official show begins, and I am very thrilled. Right now, the entire runway is covered by a red curtain. It will be opened on Monsieur Pierre's cue. First, after opening, we'd have the crowd gape at our beautiful and perfectly-summer themed glass runway for about a few minutes before the actual show starts.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is our pride and honor to present the summer trend by Jeanne Pierre: Splash of the Beach.", the host announced. On cue by Monsieur Pierre, we, together with my co-workers, pulled the red curtains and revealed the show stopping runway.

"Ooh."

"Look at that…!"

"Whoa!"

I forgot to mention. The sides, where two of the glasses were supposed to be, but they were out of stock, contains small fountains, which, by the way, the workers had me surprised. The clothes complement the runway! I was so thrilled I kind of squealed in the backstage. One by one, each sections that were summer-themed were shown to the audience: swimsuits, casual, semi-formal, formal, and gowns and suits. Both genders were shown.

"Racel, this is going perfectly!", Naomi stated happily.

Just then, Monsieur Pierre gasped out loud.

"Monsieur Pierre, what's wrong?", I asked as Naomi and I ran towards him.

"I forgot at the hotel one of the summer gowns to be shown! I forgot to bring it out of it's box! Oh…"

I panicked, "I'll go get it. My car's just parked….back at Oriens' airport…No problem! I can make a run for it!"

"Racel, you can run all the way to the hotel?! That like 3 kilometers back and 3 kilometers forth! You can't risk it, time is against it!", Naomi shook my shoulders.

"I'll be fine! Whatever happens to me, it's not gonna be anybody's fault!", I declared as I took the keycard from my purse and ran out.

I ran as fast as I could until the staircase, where I soon realized that I was wearing heels. No matter, we need to pull this off. Unfortunately, I'm not much of an experienced stilettos runner, but I prefer running in stilettos than in wedges. Well, we have two more sections before the showing of the summer gown section, meaning, I still have 20-25 minutes. That is not much time, but I scurried off anyway. I arrived at the hotel and I got so pissed because I forgot that elevators don't move that fast. I have six people with me inside and I am not loving it because they were all stopping at floors lower than my destination floor. God! I was already palpitating at this point because for the entire day, I only managed to drink one glass of water, and my body is not liking it.

Finally! My floor. I dashed out of the elevator and quickly opened the door. Monsieur Pierre said that the gown is inside a box. Oh, and let me tell you, all of the designs were inside a box. Very helpful. I hurried and swerved my way through, what I could remember was, the place where we sorted the gowns.

 _'Got it!'_ , I thought as I opened a box which contains…well, the gown, though Naomi would be so mad because this was her design. I quickly took the box with the gown inside and carried it through the streets, running, panting, and breathing. The only rest I got was the part where I was in the elevator, the rest were either running or moving around frantically. I was so tired, I couldn't even see anything when I ran, the only thing I saw was the staircase of Nobel Michael's castle. Even though, I bolted for the ballroom and entered the door leading to the backstage.

"Racel Morgan! You are a heroin! Are you okay? Take a rest first! I'll take this.", Monsieur Pierre stated as he took the box from me and handed it to the stylist. "Give her some air and water!"

Naomi rushed to my side and gave me a bottle of cold water, "You were just in time, we were on the last 5 gowns, we thought you'd be late. Thank God you're alright. Take off your heels first."

I did as I was told, "Thanks for the water. Woo! That was hella tiring."

"Duh! You ran from here to there then back here! That was 6 kilometers in total! Gosh, you're a superhuman.", Naomi laughed.

My vision was blurry and I feel dizzy but I managed a smile, "The elevator was so slow. I could've arrived earlier, but there were like six people in there who were in the lower floors!"

Then, we heard the loud applause of the audience. It was a success! I was so happy. One by one, Monsieur Pierre called out on stage the other designers who contributed to the fashion line. I was called last.

"Racel Morgan. She is also the woman behind the design of runway for this evening."

I stepped out of the crowd, trying my best not to trip and slip on the watery glass runway. Everyone applauded and I gave everything I've got to try and hide my dizziness. Nobody seemed to notice the chaos happening in the backstage earlier, and that alone made me happy. The success of our show made me even happier, or course.

When all of that was done, some guests were with Monsieur Pierre, others were taking pictures, and a few were now leaving the venue. I noticed the princes being interviewed by some reporters. I smiled to myself and went to the backstage to join my co-workers. As I walked inside, I didn't hear Naomi calling out to me anymore, all I can feel was my body numbing and my vision blurring.

"Hey, Racel! Racel, Racel, over here! Racel?! Racel!", Naomi called, which I couldn't hear anymore. My vision blacked out and I collapsed, luckily, Naomi noticed immediately and alerted my co-workers who were near me. They caught me just in time I fell unconscious.

"Quickly! Call Monsieur Pierre! If Racel doesn't wake up we have to take her to the hospital! Go!", Naomi said to another one of our co-workers. He ran out to Monsieur Pierre and whispered what had happened. Monsieur Pierre forced a smile to his guests and excused himself. Prince Joshua, who was near the small crowd of Monsieur Pierre, looked at the backstage and frowned, called out the other princes and asked if they know what had happened.

"What in Jeanne Pierre happened to her?!", Monsieur Pierre shrieked in worry. I was lying down on the floor with a soft cushion placed behind my head, and some cold towels over my arms, forehead, and neck.

"Racel, come on, wake up…", Naomi muttered.

Outside, the princes were gathered.

"Josh, what are you talking about?", Roberto asked, laughing.

"Something happened in the backstage. I know because one of the staff came to Jeanne Pierre and called him back when he was talking with sone clients. Jeanne Pierre went to the backstage. There's no way his staff would call him, and there is no way he would go back there, if it's not important!"

"Now that you say it, I actually heard some of them in the backstage shouting a name, but it was faint so I didn't hear who's name it was.", Wilfred added.

"Hmm…maybe it _is_ something urgent. We should—", Edward started.

"Let's check it out.", Joshua stated. "We're princes. What if it's urgent? We have to help."

The other princes shrugged and followed Joshua, as they instructed the security to not let any press follow.

"We can't let anyone from the press see what's happening. It'll ruin Jeanne Pierre's status.", Glenn said.

Upon entering the backstage, the staff made way for the princes and upon seeing a small group of people crowding on someone lying down, Joshua panicked. He made his was to the person lying unconscious on the floor and his eyes widened in shock and worry.

His lips trembled, whispering my name, "Racel…"

He knelt beside me and the other princes stood behind him, in worry.

"What happened?", Glenn asked, panicking as Naomi narrated what _had_ happened.

"Well…?! We should take her to the hospital!", Keith shouted at the other princes.

As this was going, Joshua hadn't said anything. His eyes only focused on my pale face as he caressed my cheek, telling me to wake up as his hand clasped mine.

"Hey…wake up…come on…", Joshua whispered, holding my hand tighter.

Wilfred knelt beside Joshua and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Joshua, we're trying to contact an ambulance right now.", Wilfred stated in comfort.

I stirred from my unconscious state.

"Racel…", Joshua started. "She's waking up."

"Racel…? Are you okay?", Naomi asked.

I fluttered my eyes open, at first it was all blurred, my eyes wander and right in front of me was Joshua's face, my vision was starting to clear and it really was him.

"WAAAAAHHHHHHH!", I screamed upon seeing Joshua's face close to mine.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!", Joshua yelled back.

"Why are we shouting?!", Roberto asked, shouting.

"All of you shut up!", Keith shouted. "What the hell, Morgan?!"

I sat up, "Sorry! That was the first thing that came out of me because Prince Joshua was—"

"He was so worried when he saw you unconscious on the floor.", Edward said.

"Prince Edward, please…", Joshua started.

"Ma chou! Are you alright? I'm so so so sorry…", Monsieur Pierre said.

I laughed, "Monsieur Pierre, it's okay! I told you, no matter what happens it would all be my fault. No one is to blame but me."

"You're damn right!", Joshua exclaimed. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"But I had to get the dress!", I tried to stand up, of course I failed and my head spun. I fell, but Joshua caught me in his arms.

"How am I suppose to deal with this woman? You don't even take care of yourself!", Joshua scolded as he assisted me to stand up still.

As the princes interviewed me on what happened, my co-workers started giggling and all that shit saying I'm so lucky and all. I guess I am…really…I never thought many people care about me. I'm very blessed. Anyway, the princes escorted me out and into the castle's lounge, from there, I was interrogated like a criminal.

"Do you even use your head?! Honestly!", Joshua shouted as the other princes enjoyed their cup of tea which was served by Zain.

"Josh, stop scolding her so much. She just woke up from her black out.", Roberto suggested.

Joshua crossed his arms over his chest, "She needs to learn a lesson from that."

"I already did! I'm completely fine, thank you for the concern."

"Yeah, you're fine because you collapsed!", Joshua countered, refusing to let it slide in peace.

"You're extra worked up and worried today, Prince Joshua.", Wilfred said, smiling.

"I'm not!", Joshua retorted.

I snickered, "Anyway, it's getting late, I must go."

I stood and bowed to the princes, thanked them for their concern, and left the lounge quietly.

"Where do you think you're going?", Joshua's voice rang.

I turned, "Prince Joshua."

He walked towards me and sighed in frustration, "Why do you worry me so much?"

"Sorry?"

"Do you even…Racel, please don't do that again. The next time you collapse out of your stupidity, honestly…"

I laughed, "I'm sorry. Won't happen again, promise."

"Are you okay?", Joshua asked.

I smiled, "Yeah. I just needed rest. I actually took a day off for tomorrow since it's a Friday. I'm planning to return to work on Monday so that I'm fully recovered. Don't worry so much!"

"Take a week leave.", Joshua stated flatly.

"Huh?!"

"The annual survival training of the princes will start on Sunday. We've been talking about it and we planned to let you join us. You've been camping, right?"

I nodded.

"Then come join us. Maybe even teach us something about how you normal people do it, there's probably a difference."

"But Monsieur Pierre knows that I'll come on Monday and—"

"I already told Monsieur Pierre about it. He said to keep you safe or else he wouldn't give us any more of his designer clothes."

"But—"

"Glenn will pick you up on Sunday around 4:00 p.m."

"I never said I'd do it.", I stated.

"Well, you should. Running six kilometers made you faint? You need to put some more exercise. Anyway, I'll see you there.", Joshua replied. "If you won't come, I will personally drag you there. I'm trying to make sure you won't do anything stupid while we're away! We can't contact anyone when we're there."

"I suppose it's the best choice."

Joshua smiled and ruffled my hair, "You look messed up now."

"Your fault. Anyway, I'll be heading back. I still have to pick up some stuff from the hotel. I'll see you soon. Oh, and Prince Joshua?"

"Yeah?"

I smiled, "Thank you."

Then I jogged down the stairs and walked back to the hotel, trying to save some energy for when I get home. Still…something kept bothering me about the camping I'm about to join.


	6. Chapter 5

The Royal Blood

(A Be My Princess Fan Fiction)

Fan Fiction by : Animedaisuki

Chapter 5 : Into the Royal Camp Site

Sunday morning came, and I can't help worrying for no reason. Prince Glenn called me saying that I should be ready thirty minutes earlier. I called my mom and told her that I'd be gone for the week due to the camping thing and stuff. Anyway, my parents won't be back yet.

I decided to eat out instead of cooking something for breakfast and lunch. I got ready and went out.

"I'll probably eat out for lunch as well. Hmm…maybe I can buy something for the camping.", I thought to myself as I was driving to the department store.

Whatever the case, I managed to come back home at 2:00 p.m. and started packing. Glenn's going to pick me up at 4:00 p.m. so I better be ready by then.

"Toiletries…check. Clothes…check. Some other stuff…check. Money…yes, money, can't forget the money."

Calling: Joshua Lieben

'Prince Joshua? Why though?', I thought.

"Yes, hello?", I said as I kept folding and packing clothes.

"Racel, change of plans. I'm picking you up."

"WHAT?! NO!"

"Stop screaming all the time! You have no choice, Glenn said he'll be late. Anyway, I'm already in Oriens. Be there in 30 minutes."

"30 minutes?! Wait! I'm not ready!"

"So what? I'll wait there, I'm an hour or two early annyway."

"But—!"

Beep

"He hung up on me?! That little–"

Ring ring

Fr: Joshua

Do you have rice balls…? I miss your rice balls. Please give me some if you have. Thanks.

I smiled to myself, thinking of how cute he wanted rice balls. I guess rice balls can only be found here in Oriens, and I have made him taste rice balls before, I never thought he'd like it. Sadly, I have none in stock so I decided to buy from the nearest store and got back with six pieces of rice balls.

Ding dong

"Prince Joshua, do come in.", I greeted him as he stepped into the doorway, since he's in Oriens, he followed the custom of removing his shoes at the doorway.

"Thank you for having me, I guess.", Joshua smiled.

I led him to the living room and served him the rice balls with some hot tea.

"Did you made these?"

"Oh, uhm, no. Well, I knew you wanted these for a long time, but since I don't have any stock, I bought them for you."

"Thanks.", Joshua smiled. "Mm…these are good!"

"Glad you like them. Help yourself, I'll finish packing."

I went back into my room and placed the rest of my necessities in my suitecase.

"Hey.", Joshua's voice rang from my bedroom's doorway.

"Sorry, am I taking a while?"

Joshua placed his hand into his pocket, "No, it's fine."

Right, well, it's pretty awkward because he enterd my room and sat on the armchair near the bed and gazed around.

"Your room's quite…blank.", Joshua started. "Why?"

"Pardon?"

"Why is it blank? It's just…white, and all your stuff are either made of glass or dark wood. Seems blank."

"Ah, well, too much color may seem distracting for me. Having a simple environment helps me think clearly."

"I see. I guess we're similar on that. Can you hurry up?"

"I am!"

Shortly, we left the house and rode his limo to the airport. The travel was sort of quick, maybe three hours.

"Prince Joshua, where are we headed to, by the way?"

Joshua looked up from the window, "Raven Kingdom. This is actually the first time we're going to camp out in their private woods."

I shuddered, "Why did I agree to this?"

"Why? Scared?"

"Hello?! We're going to camp out in an unfamiliar place and you're asking me if I'm scared?"

"It's safe there. It's another kingdom and princes from other kingdoms will be joining the camp as well, not just the major six."

I raised an eyebrow, "So…I'm the only girl?! No. I'm not going."

"There are few princesses joining so relax."

"But I'm not even a royal blood!"

"So what?"

I sighed, "I give up, Prince Joshua. Anyway, I believe we've landed."

"Shall we?", Joshua held his hand out to me.

I smiled and took his hand as he escorted me out the plane.

We arrived at the camping grounds where the other princes greeted us.

"Prince Joshua!", Wilfred called out from under a shady tree where the others were waiting.

"Racel!", Roberto waved.

Joshua and I walked towards them, smiling.

"Prince Glenn will be late, yes?", Edward confirmed.

Joshua nodded, "He had to keep Alan under control because the kid wants to join, but he's not yet of age, so, I had to pick Racel up for him."

"Yeah, great…", I said sarcastically.

"Why, aren't you grateful?", Joshua replied.

I was about to retort back when someone called me.

"Racel…?"

I turned to look at the person and I saw, none other than, Prince Leonardo of Nervan, and some familiar-looking guy. Nothing much has changed to Leonardo, the other guy though, he looked like someone I've met, but yeah, his hair was blackish-bluish, I don't know, but he looks flawless. The guy smiled at me, like he knew me from way back when, I don't know.

"Hey, Prince Leonardo.", I said in a smile.

Leonardo smiled and glanced at his companion, "Yeah, long time no see. This is Prince Arcel, he's—"

"Arcel…Arcel?! As in…Arcel, the guy whom—", I stuttered.

"Whom you met almost a year ago in the hotel in Charles. Yeah.", Arcel continued.

"No way…you never said you were…this."

"Hahaha! I'm sorry."

Leonardo looked back and forth between us, "You know each other? Well, how about that!"

"What's this…? Are you Racel's boyfriend?", Roberto asked.

"Uh…? No, no! We're friends.", Arcel replied.

"Then how come you know each other?", Joshua added.

I told them the story of how Arcel and I met.

"You never told me you were a prince! Gosh!", I said.

"I'm sorry! But, it's been a while, it's great to see you again.", Arcel replied, smiling, and of course, the gentelman's way of greeting, kissed my hand.

"They look great together, don't you think, Prince Wilfred?", Edward whispered.

"What?", Joshua muttered.

Keith placed an arm around Joshua and laughed, "Don't be jealous, Joshua."

"I'm not!", Joshua exclaimed, way too loud.

"Prince Joshua, what's wrong?", I asked.

Joshua blushed, "Nothing."

"Prince Joshua has something to say.", Keith smirked.

"I don't."

"Joshua…you never change…", Leonardo whispered.

Joshua sighed, "Excuse me for a bit…"

Joshua walked off somewhere, leaving the rest of us behind, at the same time, Glenn joined the group.

"Racel, are you and Prince Joshua…dating?", Arcel asked.

"What? No!"

Arcel laughed, "Okay, chill. But…I thought you were…engaged…?"

"The reason behind that was because there was a misunderstanding that happened.", I replied.

"I see.", Arcel nodded. "By the way, a week after this camping event, I'd like to invite you all to the party that Raven Kingdom will be hosting."

"That's great. We'd love to go, thanks.", Glenn replied.

"You're the prince of Raven Kingdom?", I asked.

All the princes laughed.

"I'm sorry! I'm a bit clueless about this!", I giggled.

"I understand, the royal family of Raven doesn't get much exposure. It's part of my father's rule. You've heard about the stories, right?", Arcel declared.

We all looked at each other and nodded.

"King Aston, my dad, well, he has…beliefs.", Arcel laughed sadly.

We all know it, King Aston's wife and daughter, his remarrying, and all the similar ish.

"Well, I better go. I must prepare for my welcoming speech to everyone. I'll see you all later.", Arcel bowed and left.

"Seriously though, if you've met King Aston, you wouldn't believe he's like that.", Leonardo stated.

"You've heard about and met him?", Wilfred asked.

"Yup. He's super nice, so I never thougth he was like that."

Prince Joshua returned, joining us once again.

"Where've you been?", I muttered.

"Sorry. Just somewhere around there.", Joshua pointed to the direction he came from.

Then, Arcel came up to the front and welcomed us with a short speech. Everyone applauded afterwards. I just realized, but he smiles like nothing's going wrong within his family and background.

"Prince Arcel's smile is very contaigous, isn't it?", I asked aloud to the other princes.

"I definitely agree.", Glenn replied.

"Yup, when he smiles I feel like I have no reason to feel stressed out.", Keith added.

Everyone started grouping into teams to prepare for the first task. I was grouped with Keith, Glenn and one other princess. Our first task was to build a tent.

"Seriously, what the hell could go wrong? This is easy! Too easy!", Keith declared.

The first few attempts were a catastrophe, the tent kept falling down on top of Keith when he walks inside to check if it's stable.

"Keith, get out, you're pretty useless, huh?", Glenn said as we joined Glenn to fix the tent, leaving Keith standing in frustration.

"What? So I'm useless now? Yeah, yeah. So girls are better than me now?", Keith muttered.

"Can you hand that over to me, Racel? Thanks.", Glenn said.

After a while, the tent stood up perfectly. Now, time for the collection of wood for the fire. Apparently, I got assigned to do it.

"Wood, wood, wood.", I whispered.

"Hey.", Arcel's voice rang behind me.

"The woods here are creepy during the night. Geez!"

"Scared? Hahaha! Don't worry. Oh look! A pile of small branches! Come on."

Arcel led me towards the pile and we started collecting for each of our fire.

"You done? Need some help?", Arcel queried.

"Yeah, I'm done, but I'm okay, thanks for the offer."

We both got back to the camping grounds. I placed the wood in position, Alisha, the princess in our group, started to light a fire.

"Here, need a hand?", I offered.

"Yeah, thanks. It doesn't seem to be lighting up."

I kept trying, until Glenn took over, but failed.

"You people can't even light a fire? Seriously…", Keith muttered as he took the sticks from Glenn. Luckily, he did an awesome job and we finally lit a fire. Keith seemed shock himself as he raised his arms up.

"See?! I knew I wasn't that useless! I'm- I'm not weak at this!", Keith declared proudly.

The instructor stated that the tents we all built was to be used by another set of group. Since there were a total of three females, we were assigned to the tent near the woods, and the rest of the guys were grouped by the instructor.

"We're lucky we weren't grouped with guys, but because of that, we were placed in the tent nearest to the woods. Honestly…", Alisha stated.

"Anyway, let's get to know each other. I'm Kyla.", Kyla, the other princess said.

"I'm Racel."

"Alisha."

As girls, we all naturally became close.

"Seriously…I'm glad my period was over.", Alisha said.

"Same.", Kyla and I said in unison.

"Racel, honestly…I'm so jealous of you, you can live your life the way you want to! When I was young, I wanted to be a designer too. Could you design me a gown for my 22nd birthday?", Alisha stated.

"Of course! Wait…you're turning 22? We're the same age then!", I replied.

"Aww…I turned 22 recently. I guess I'm older than you guys hahaha!", Kyla added.

"As you all know, all our meals would be coming from the woods. Fruits, wild vegetables, mushrooms, whatever. But we can't hunt down animals. For the entire week's meals, we would assign a group to prepare for us, since our ladies are near the woods, they would be the ones to cook something for us, the rest of you, start unpacking your stuff.", the instructor ordered.

"I'm sorry…what?", I asked.

"You mean…us…cook?", Kyla queried.

"Find something…there?", Alisha pointed towards the dark woods.

"Yes. Don't worry, we have some cooking supplies and extra condiments. Before the camp, we planted vegetables and some other stuff there, just go and look for them. Go deeper in the woods if you have to, we planted them in difficult places. Now move, move, move!", the instructor yelled.

"Okay, okay.", Kyla muttered.

"Let's go get some basins or something, we can put the edible things we collect in there. Oh, and Racel, we should get a torch too.", Alisha stated.

"Yeah, good idea. Me and Kyla will go light some torches, go get the basin."

We set out for the woods, scared, and creeped out as hell. Three girls, going deeper and deeper into the woods, having the torch as the only thing to give them light and probably defense.

"Alisha, have you seen any edible thing? Why did they have to make it difficult for us to eat and look food, I mean, come on, they planted out some veggies, why plant it in a difficult spot? What? A spot next to the loch ness monster?", Kyla ranted.

Crack

"Oh…shit…", Alisha whispered. "What in hell was that…?"

"I stepped on a twig. Sorry.", I replied.

Kyla sighed, "We're not gonna be able to find anything. It's too dark!"

"It's the Hunger Games, Kyla, we have to find something, at least one veggie!", Alisha kept walking deeper in the woods.

Crack

"Racel, it's not funny, stop it!", Alisha cried out.

"It wasn't me…", I whispered.

"Then who…", Kyla started.

"Nothing! It was probably nothing!", Alisha encouraged. "Come on."

We walked deeper for a while longer.

"Kyla, wait, stop. Can you hold your torch a little higher?", I requested.

"Okay."

I grinned happily, "I knew it. Look! Mushrooms! And there are lots of them!"

Alisha squealed, "Yes, we can make some mushroom soup! But…it's high up on the tree."

"Go Racel.", Kyla directed.

"Why me?!"

Kyla snorted, "You saw it first, so go."

'At least I have an experience in mountain climbing, but what does that have to do with tree climbing?', I thought.

Anyway, I pulled all the strength I have.

"Fine, if I fall, you guys have to catch me. Got it?"

"Got it.", Alisha and Kyla said.

"Do you have a mini knife with you? So we can, you know, cut off the mushrooms?", I stated before climbing.

"Yeah, here you go. If you cut off a mushroom, just drop it to us.", Alisha stated after handing me a knife.

I started climbing, slowly but surely, because obviously, even though they said they'll catch me, we'll end up falling anyways. So I climbed, slipped, almost died, climbed, and finally reached the branch nearest to the mushrooms. I took the knife and slowly cut them off. I have to keep in mind that I need to get an amount enough to make a mushroom soup for sixteen hungry people.

I managed to collect a bunch and dropped them down piece by piece to the other girls so that they can place it in the basin we carried. I forgot that I wasn't a professional tree climber, 'cause we can all agree that climbing up is better than climbing down, and I don't know how the hell I got up the branch.

'Shit.'

"Alisha, Kyla…help."

Alisha smacked her forehead, "Are you freaking kidding me right now? Uhm…use the knife! You know, pierce it on the tree! Or…or…or just jump!"

"Jump?! Are you crazy?! I'll break some bones! I'm like, I don't know, twenty feet high, or something. I ain't not stuntwoman princess!"

"Then work your way down! Like you went up! Just find some branches to hold on! Oh my God. I am hyperventilating!", Kyla exclaimed. "Don't dare break anything, Racel. Be careful."

I took a deep breath and slowly descended from the branch I was on, I pierced the knife on the trunk as something to hold on to and I slowly worked my way down. Keep in mind that things will always end up badly. Of course, it did, because fate and destiny are bitches. As I held on to another branch, you know, I know, they know, everyone knows, it's going to break and make me fall flat on my face. I held on to the branch as I tried to pull the knife out of the trunk, sadly, the branch I was holding slowly started to break.

"You know what? I'm like eight or ten feet high, I can make it. Hopefully.", I muttered. I freed the knife and fell down with the branch.

"Racel!", Alisha and Kyla screamed as they scrambled around to try and catch me.

Thud!

"Ugh…", I groaned.

"Racel, you're way too heavy for me.", Kyla muttered under me.

"Thanks for catching me…I guess."

"Everyone okay?", Alisha asked from somewhere near Kyla.

I stood up and helped each of them up, "Yup."

"At least we have lots of mushrooms.", Kyla smiled. "All we need more are garlics and onions, maybe some parsley, too."

We continued our search, luckily, the crops were near our location and we quickly harvested some of them for the soup.

"Efficient. They placed labels too. The onions are somewhere around that slope, I guess. Careful, Alisha.", Kyla called out.

"Racel, how's this? They'll still last in our stocks even if they were harvested, right?", Alisha called out.

I nodded, "Yeah, in fact, we can harvest all the garlics and onions."

Back at the camp site

"What's taking them so long?", Joshua muttered.

"They're girls, they're probably freaking out over some tiny spider.", Keith joked.

RACEL!

"What the—", Leonardo stood up in alarm.

"Alright, alright. Everyone calm down.", the instructor stated.

"Calm down? We can't do that when our companions are screaming.", Glenn said smugly.

"Let them handle it.", the instructor announced.

"But what if they don't come back?", Roberto asked.

"They will…sheesh, these campers…oh, look, see? There they are", the instructor pointed towards the sound of footsteps.

Me and the other girls came out of the woods, little twigs sticking out of our hairs.

"We plan on mushroom soup for dinner. We need the extra condiments though, like salt, pepper, and everything else.", Alisha announced.

"Yeah…go fix yourselves first.", the instructor ordered.

"Oh, of course. Here's the knife we borrowed earlier. Thank you, because it kinda saved my life.", I said, handing the instructor the knife, and walking towards our tent.

"They look like big foot…", Roberto muttered. "Their hairs were like, bam!"

It took us almost an hour to prepare the soup, but it turned out well. In no time, everyone was gathered in the wooded table and stump chairs.

"Mmm…this tastes awesome!", Roberto exclaimed.

"Hey, this is camping. Survival! I don't wanna see anyone being overly mannered when dining.", Keith declared.

"Finally…a break…", Kyla muttered.

"A break? You've been taking a break since we started this camp session.", Alisha argued, laughing.

"I wasn't. Racel just did most of everything.", Kyly replied.

"No, I haven't.", I retorted.

"Yeah, you have! You climbed a tree for mushrooms. Mushrooms, Racel. Mushrooms.", Kyla said proudly.

Silence

At this point, everyone was looking at me.

"What?", I asked, like a wee, little mouse.

"Miss Morgan, we have mushrooms that can be found on the ground. We made sure of that.", the instructor said.

"But we were realy getting scared, and the first thing I did was look up, you know, to check the moon, then I saw the mushrooms and…you know…", I explained.

Arcel laughed a little, "I can say, you're pretty amazing."

"Thank you."

"Amazing? She could've fallen off that tree, and broke bones, and, and…", the instructor trailed off.

"She actualy fell off, but—", Kyla added.

"Kyla!", Alisha and I warned.

"Be quiet…", I mouthed.

"She fell off. She fell off! She fell off?!", the instructor yelled.

"I didn't! Kinda…but I'm fine! Here, eat your soup. Hehe.", I rushed towards the instructor and convinced him to keep eating.

"What do I do if you got harmed…goodness! These reckless humans.", the instructor muttered, but kept eating, letting the problem slide off as I get back to my seat.

"What the hell were you thinking?!", Joshua scolded in a whisper, grumpily sitting beside me.

"Sorry, I ran out of options.", I exclaimed.

"You never fail to worry me…god, Racel.", Joshua sighed.

"Apologies, mister."

After dinner, the instructor told us to create a campfire in the center of the camp site, while I got the task of cleaning up the dining area, a punishment for being a little too reckless. No problem, I clean up well and fast anyway.

"You're too reckless, to be honest.", Joshua stated, helping me clean up the table.

"Prince Joshua, I can do it, leave them be. It's fine."

Joshua smiled, "I'll help, I mean, it's not illegal, right?"

"I guess not. But—"

"I'm a prince? Is that why? That I can't do this stuff?"

I paused, quite taken aback, "Well…if you wanna help that bad, then I guess I got no choice…?"

"Good answer. This prince doesn't take 'No' for an answer anyway.", Joshua teased.

"I know that too well.", I laughed.

The last bowl was left on the table, I was gonna get it, but Joshua grabbed it at the same time as I did, a classic! I know, but still overwhelming, because I can feel his eyes on me, but I'm trying to avoid eye contact here.

"Give it to me, Morgan, sheesh, stealing the last bowl…", Joshua pulled the bowl from me and I reluctantly let it go, trying to erase the feeling I was feeling. It was crazy!

After cleaning up, Joshua and I walked to the others who were sitting around the campfire: laughing and sharing stories while roasting mallows. I sat between Kyla and Leonardo, and Joshua sat between me and Leonardo.

"Let's expose some people, Glenn.", Keith whispered.

" Yeah, good idea. Hey, let's play Q and A.", Glenn stated.

"Oh…shit…", I glared at Glenn and Keith.

"Racel sucks at this, so we'll ask her first.", Glenn smirked.

Keith cleared his throat dramatically, "What was your first impression of Joshua when you two first met at Nobel Michael's party?"

"Keith, you twat.", Joshua said, looking at the ground.

I spoke up, "Well…we didn't really have a good meeting, so I thought he was extremely rude and too blunt."

"Really?! I never thought you thought of me that way, that's way too mean.", Joshua argued.

"No, it's not. Anyway, my turn to ask. Glenn, is it true that you peed your pants when you were declared as crown prince at 5?", I asked boldly, smirking.

"What the hell…Racel!", Glenn exclaimed, blushing.

Everyone started laughing.

"Yes. I have, but that was before the event.", Glenn muttered. "Okay, Racel, now you're just embarrassing me."

I laughed, but I was laughing too hard that everyone started laughing again.

"Alright, alright! Shut up, these people…", Glenn complained. "Joshua, was Racel the first girl you ever danced with and became close with? Honest answer."

Joshua pursed his lips, glancing in my direction, "Yes."

"Racel said she's honored for being your first for everything.", Alisha exclaimed.

"Yiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee!", the rest of the crowd declared.

"She's not really the first for everything. She wasn't my first kiss…never mind…but it was an accident so it doesn't count!", Joshua defended.

"Sure, Prince Joshua, suuuuuure.", Kyla mocked.

"Moving on, moving on—", Joshua started.

"I was your first kiss?!", I said in shock. Blushing madly.

Joshua blushed and looked away, "Yes! Yes! Stop asking already! Sheesh! It's supposed to be one question only!"

"Yiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeee!", the rest exclaimed.

I blushed a deeper shade of red. I wasn't expecting it.

"Leonardo, do you like Racel in that way?", Joshua asked.

"How did you know about that?", Leonardo and I asked.

The rest of our friends' jaws dropped.

"No way…", Wilfred stated. "Really?"

"That was unexpected.", Edward commented.

Leonardo took a deep breath, "I guess you overheard our conversation before, but yes, I do like her. Racel knows, I confessed to her. That was the time when you two were still in the conspiracy of the fake engagement thing, because it was just a contract, but Racel said she—"

"Prince Leonardo's right.", I cut him off, using my eyes to tell him to shut up because everyone doesn't know that I kind of admitted that I have feelings for Joshua while having that conversation with Leonardo back then, right now, I'm confused of whether I still like him or not.

"That's enough, that's enough. Everyone head to bed. We have a longer day tomorrow.", the instructor called out from his tent. Everyone started walking back to their tents and saying their good nights.

Joshua faced me once more as I stood up, "Uh, good night."

I smiled, "Good night, Prince Joshua."

I got back in my tent, and slept peacefully, which was unexpected because I'm never comfortable in the woods. Come on, the forest is the epicenter of bugs, but either way, I fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 6

**The Royal Blood**

(A Be My Princess Fan Fiction)

 _Fan Fiction by : Animedaisuki_

 **Chapter 6 : A Day of Disaster**

"Rise and shine, humans.", the instructor yelled outside. "We got some fishin' to do."

"Fishing? I have never fished!", I hushed in my groggy state.

"Duh, I can't even swim.", Kyla muttered. "Come on, before grumpy gets mad."

Everyone settled around the instructor as he made some announcements.

"We're going fishing this morning, and if you and your team don't catch anything, sorry but you won't have anything for breakfast. Your catch will be your breakfast, he he he. G'luck campers. Oh, and your teammates will be your tent-mates! Pretty great, yeah? Anyway, get moving!"

We all head out to the river near the campsite, and as we ready our tools, baits, and the boat, me and my group aren't _that_ happy.

"My experience in this is zero as shit.", Alisha muttered.

"We don't have life vests?", Kyla queried.

I shrugged.

"We don't, it's not that of a deep swim anyway, relax.", Keith stated from our left.

" _Yeeeaahhh_ , thanks.", Kyla mused.

Kyla looked sharply between me and Alisha, "That guy…seriously. I _can't_ swim."

"Listen princess, you just gotta work it!", Alisha muttered as we boarded our boat and rowed to the center if the river.

"This is far enough! Stop rowing, Racel.", Kyla squealed at the corner of the boat.

"Kyla, we can hear your screeching from here.", Arcel called out from afar.

"I'm not that loud!", Kyla snorted, standing up. "Oh-oh-oh! Waaaaahhh!"

 _SPLASH_

"What the—", Roberto exclaimed.

"HELP ME, YOU IDIOTS!", Kyla cried, splashing water everywhere.

"Here, here, grab my hand, relax.", I reached out to here just in time as Joshua, Leonardo, and Arcel rowed near us to help.

"You girls okay?", Leonardo asked.

"We're okay. Thank you.", Alisha replied.

"No! We are _not_ okay! I am _so_ not okay! Racel! Help me, stop staring at Joshua for now."

My eyes widened in shock, "I wasn't! Just grab my hand already!"

Kyla held my hand firmly…but, you know…

"Ahhh! There's something circling my legs!", Kyla fractically moved around, maintaining here grip on my hand.

"Whoops! That's my catch! Sorry!", Alisha stated, pulling.

"Alisha! Oh my gosh!", Kyla shrieked.

At this point, Kyla was not being calm, Leonardo and his team tried to grab her but she was not making it easy. Kyla moved franctically and tuged at my arm. Hard.

 _SPLASH_

"Racel!", Joshua called out from beside Leonardo.

"I'm fine.", I replied. "Kyla, stop moving. Kyla. Kyla!"

"What?!"

I sighed, "The water is only up our chin."

"I know! But I'm drowning."

"You're not!", I slapped my forehead.

"Yes! I caught one!", Alisha declared.

"Get me out of the water…please…", Kyla pleaded.

I laughed at her as I helped her up the boat, "Such a scaredy cat."

I safely got myself and Kyla out the water as Joshua sighed.

"You girls bring trouble everywhere, don't you.", Joshua laughed.

"Not all girls, only Kyla.", Alisha giggled at a grumpy looking Kyla.

I reached out to my neck to check if my necklace is still hanging, but it wasn't there. I quickly jumped back into the river and looked under the water. I pop my head above the water just to breathe.

"Racel, what are you doing?", Joshua asked, while patiently waiting for a catch.

"I lost my necklace.", I whispered and dove back in the water.

"Wait—", Joshua said in alarm.

I kept looking, and gladly, I found it a few feet from our boat. I swam to it, but of course, the current took it farther. I realized, as I stood up, that the water gets deeper and deeper, but I can't lose the necklace! Joshua, he—I can't lose it! I swam quicker, but I started to lose breath so I poked my head out the water.

"Racel! Come back here! The current is getting stronger, come on.", Joshua called out, now farther than I expected. "We'll find a way to get it later."

Of course, I didn't listen. I turned my head towards the direction of the necklace and dove towards the way of the current.

 _'Gotcha!'_

I gripped the necklace and quickly went back, but the current was strongly against me. But, hey, I'm a good swimmer, so I held on to that belief and just swam for it. I can't die, bro! Not here. I can't drown now because I won that gold medal in a swimming competition, so Racel, get your butt swimming.

"Oh my gosh, Racel, we thought you drowned. You're a great swimmer.", Alisha squealed.

I smiled, "Hahaha! Thank you. I just can't lose this necklace…it's precious to me."

I glanced at Joshua and he smiled. Briefly. Then…

"Are you stupid?! You could've drowned!"

"Then again, I didn't. Why are you so worried about me, Prince Joshua?"

Joshua blushed and stuttered, "W-what? What the hell do you mean?"

I laughed, "Nothing." I propped myself into our boat and grabbed the fishing pole.

Thankfully, the morning started right. I saved a friend from "drowning", I saved my necklace, I even caught a fish! It's not really that big, but at least I added to the team's catch. Kyla managed to catch one, too! So, in total, we have a total of three catches. Not much, but it's enough for breakfast!

"At least we won't cook for breakfast today.", I sighed in relief.

Kyla sighed, "Yeah…about earlier, I'm really sorry."

"Hmm? Oh, don't sweat it. It's okay, not all of us love having too much water.", I giggled.

I walked towards my tent to get cleaned.

Joshua suddenly draped my head with a towel, "Dry off, stupid."

"Thanks?"

"I thought we had an agreement that you won't cause me worry?", Joshua muttered, eyebrow raised.

I took off the towel and threw it in his face, laughing.

"Hey, Racel, that wasn't such a great response to the crown prince of Dres Van.", Joshua stated.

"Yeah, sure. You get worried easily, though. I wonder what I should do next to give you a heart attack?", I joked.

Joshua sighed deeply, "Stop it. The next time you try to do something rash, I'll seriously make you clean the entire Dres Van manor."

I laughed.

"You—What are you laughing at?", Joshua asked.

"Prince Joshua, geez, you're really losing your sanity. I'm turning 22 this year, I think I'm old enough to take care of myself."

Joshua frowned and whispered, "That doesn't mean I can't take care of you."

"What was that?", I pretended I didn't hear.

"If you didn't hear it, then just forget it.", Joshua laughed, ruffling my hair with the towel as he walked off.

I thought I saw a ghost smile on his face. Joshua? Smile? They don't really mix.

"Prince Joshua…", I muttered with a smile.

"Racel!"

I turned towards the voice and saw Arcel jogging his way over.

"Oh, Prince Arcel. What is it?", I greeted with a smile.

" _Prince_ Arcel? Hahaha! That sounded weird coming from you. Just call me Arcel."

I laughed softly, "Well, is there anything you need?"

"Actually, I came to ask if you're free after getting cleaned up?"

"Yeah. I am, but won't breakfast be starting then?"

Arcel thought for a moment, "I don't think so. We have a few minutes before that. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh, sure. I'll get cleaned up quickly.", I stated.

Arcel smiled, "That's great! I'll meet you near the river."

As promised, I cleaned up quickly and headed to where Arcel was, but before that, Joshua called out to me.

"Hey.", Joshua said.

"Oh, Prince Joshua. Yes?"

He paused slightly, "Uh-I-uh, actually, I wanted to tell you something…"

"Ah…is that so? Well, can it wait until breakfast? I have to meet with Prince Arcel."

Joshua's face dropped, "Oh…I see. Alright…see you later."

"Yeah.", I stated as I walked towards the river-side.

When I was out of sight, Joshua stared into the direction I went.

"I really need to know how I could be worthy of you…idiot…right now, I'm really helplessly in love with you."

I arrived at the place Arcel wanted to meet me.

"Hey!", I called out.

Arcel turned and smiled, "Wow, you got here quick."

"Yeah, I'm surprised myself. So, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

Arcel's smile suddenly fell into a sad smile, "Actually…I just wanted someone to listen to me. I thought that among the group, you're the one I could share anything with, I mean, there's probably a reason that the six princes you're close with told me you're a good person."

"You can tell me anything, I'll just listen. Go on.", I said, asking him to sit down with me.

"Well, my father's been very ill since last week. The doctors said that they have no idea what it is, how to cure it, and with my father's condition, I'll be succeeding the throne sooner than expected. I'm not ready, nor is Raven Kingdom. Racel, I'm only 23…I'm not yet of age. I wish mother was with me right now, she knows what to do."

I spoke softly, "Your mother…and your sister…have you seen them? Or at least, know where they are?"

Arcel shook his head, "No…at this point, I don't want to find them anymore, now that crisis is stirring up in the royal family, I don't want to bring problem into their lives. Wherever they are, they're probably living a peaceful life. I'll be happy if it'll stay that way."

"But what about your father, and you? What's going to happen?"

"My father doesn't have much time left, at least, that's what the doctors said. They're still doing their best to cure him, but nothing seems to be working. I understand that, but I don't think it's time. No one's ready. My dad rebuilt the kingdom on his own after losing his brother, King Aston. It's been peaceful since then, but…now…I don't think I'm capable enough."

"Listen, I know it's hard for you, but you have to do it for your kingdom, right? For your father."

Arcel nodded, "Yeah, but the kingdom believes I still need more time. The nobles want me to search for my mother, so she can rule until I come of age, but…she's happier to where she is now. My sister…I want to protect her. In a few months time, I'll be crowned king, but if mother was here, I would still have more time, more years. Those are the only options for me: to be crowned, or to bring my mother back to the throne. I don't want both, because no one will be happy with either of those choices. Hahaha! This is a tough decision to make."

I managed a soft laugh, "I think you'll get through it. There's no problem that can't be solved, right? Just because you have two options, it doesn't mean you have to choose between them. There will always be a loop-hole, yes?"

Arcel smiled, "Yeah, you're right. Hey, thanks for listening to me. I wasn't wrong for telling you all this."

"I'm happy to be of some help. Come on, breakfast will be starting soon.", I said, standing up.

Arcel stood up, "Yeah, speaking of breakfast, I'm hungry."

We got back just in time as the instructor gathered the entire group. Arcel and I joined our groups as the instructor cleared his throat.

"Alright, breakfast. Make anything with what you have. Cook it on a fire, eat it raw, whichever your group prefers. Anyway, get it done, get it done. I'll be in my tent.", the instructor said.

"What about your breakfast, sir?", Edward asked.

"I have mine prepared already, prince of Charles.", the instructor stated. "Campers, you all will have to clean up your breakfast, afterwards, you have one hour for your spare time, then, we'll have some fun and play some games."

We all prepared our breakfast in groups. Kyla decided against the idea of raw fish, so, we fried the fish on a stick above a fire. When it was ready, we ate in silence, some others chatted softly, some were enjoying their breakfast, some were in silence, eating awkwardly. After a short time, we all started cleaning up quickly. Then, I remembered that Prince Joshua wanted to tell me something, so I approached him as he just finished cleaning up.

"Prince Joshua."

Joshua looked at me in surprise, "What?"

"You were going to tell me something earlier…?"

Joshua blushed secretly, "Uh, it's nothing, forget about it."

"Uh, okay?"

Then, he suddenly walked off briskly as if he wanted to avoid another conversation with me. Did I opened it up at a bad time? Is he having a bad day? Oh, what am I thinking, it's Prince Joshua, that's how he is.

 _With Joshua_

 _'Why didn't I just told her? Damn…that girl drives me insane, literally…'_ , Joshua thought.

Joshua punched a trunk, trying to release his frustration, his knuckles went red.

"No chill, Joshua?", a voice rang.

"Leonardo…?", Joshua guessed.

"Yes, it's me. What's going on?"

"Nothing."

Leonardo snorted, "Your face doesn't look like it's 'nothing'."

Joshua frowned, "I said it's nothing."

"Yeah, yeah. You're easy to read, Joshua. Is this about Racel?"

"I said—!", Joshua yelled, then paused, and continued softly, "Yes…"

Leonardo laughed, "Why so hesitant? Is it because I have feelings for her as well?"

Joshua looked at the river up ahead, "It's not that. I know that she's not a prize to be won and—"

"I've let her go…", Leonardo muttered.

Joshua turned to look at Leonardo in shock, "You what? Why?"

"I knew before that you've already developed feelings for her. I realized that you're the one who can make her happy. Effortlessly, you make her smile. Deep inside, I know I'm still in love with her, but I'm willing to set that aside because I know she'll be happier with you and I respect that."

"Leonardo, you and I don't know what she's feeling."

Leonardo laughed lightly, "Whatever. Promise me you'll do whatever it takes to make her happy."

Joshua blushed in embarrassment, "Hey, she hasn't chosen anyone yet…but, I promise. I'm still trying to improve myself so that I could be worthy of her, because I don't think I'm good enough yet..."

"I think you'll do fine when you're being yourself.", Leonardo smiled. "I know you won't fail her, Joshua. Anyway, I came here to relax, but ended up talking about how you're such a dumbass in your own love story. Sheesh, are there any rules in Dres Van that will oblige you to at least be aware of your own love life? To be honest, you suck at it."

Joshua laughed, "Thanks, Leonardo."

"Prince Joshua! There you are. Prince Leonardo, too!", I shouted to them. I don't know what the hell those two were doing there, but the instructor commanded to look for them. Activities are about to start. Joshua and Leonardo tensed up upon hearing my voice. Look, I don't plan to get scolded by the instructor by being so slow in finding two grown up men.

"Hey, hey! Get moving will you? You look like damn statues, and quit looking at me like that."

Joshua stammered, "H-how long were you standing there?"

"When I shouted your names. That's how long. Not too long though, why?! Are there any secrets you're sharing?!", I stated curiously.

"No!", the two princes stated.

"Oh, okay. Well, come on. Instructor's getting mad. You guys are late!"

I came back with the two princes trotting behind me and as expected, the instructor gave them huge scoldings simply for being late. Afterwards, the instructor told us that we were given the chance to tour the entire castle of Raven Kingdom! I was ecstatic because this is a great opportunity to take a free tour around the kingdom. I never knew this before, but apparently, Raven Kingdom is known for its historical background and their architecture.

"As all of you obviously don't know, the princes from the major kingdoms were given the chance by Duchess Emilia to tour the castle today, while the others get to tour the city. Tomorrow, you all will switch places. As campers, you are all to survive going there by foot!", the instructor announced.

Arcel snorted, "On foot? It'll take us hours."

"Exactly!", the instructor exclaimed. "Anyway, leave your stuff…but…I guess wallets, phones, you bring them with you. Alright, now you campers get out of my sight."

I grabbed my wallet and stuffed all my spare money in it. I threw my phone in my jeans' pocket and I was all set! Just in case you're wondering, I'm wearing jeans, white sneakers, and a white statement shirt that says: If you gave me a chance, I would take it. I got out the tent and jogged towards the group who were gathered near the entrance of the campsite.

"Hey.", I greeted.

"Your shirt! It reminds me of a song!", Arcel exclaimed.

I laughed, "Does it? Which song do you have in mind? Sing it."

 _"If you gave me a chance I would take it it's a shot in the dark but I'll make it.",_ Arcel started.

I followed up. " _Know with all of your heart you can't shake me when I am with you there's no place I'd rather be._ "

Arcel laughed, "Yes! Yes! That song! Rather Be."

"That's my favorite song!"

"Me too. It's a great modern song for waltz, or tango, or ballroom dancing, you know?"

We continued to wait for the others for a few minutes while talking about songs, and then we left the camp site to go to the capital of Raven.

Arcel was right. This trip will take us hours! We've been walking for almost 2 hours now and my feet are starting to ache. We walked around, avoiding public attention, of course, and we managed to take a break in an empty park.

"This park's gorgeous, but why is it empty?", Edward asked.

Arcel shrugged, "Well, it's the second month of school. Primary and elementary kids go to school at 9:00 a.m. and get out at 3:00 p.m. It's only 12:30. Hmm…adults are usually eating out or working in the offices at this hour."

"Well, how long until we get there? I feel like I'm starting to die.", Roberto complained.

"We'll be there in 30 minutes…?", Arcel replied.

"Quit it, Miller. I'm exhausted! Come on! Let's get moving.", Keith exclaimed.

Arcel stood up from the bench as the six princes from the major kingdoms followed suit. They decided to separate from here, the others went to the place where they will meet with the duke in order to tour them around. Anyway, in our point of view, walking towards the castle, we passed tons of buildings and huge skyscrapers, the monument of the first king and queen of Raven, which, by the way, was the most beautiful monument ever. It was at least 50 feet tall and made of marble and…

"Arcel, those crowns of the king and queen statue, are they gold?", I asked.

Arcel nodded, "Yeah. Most expensive crown ever made in Raven Kingdom. Hahaha! Obviously. The statues' crowns are the biggest crowns ever made in history. It's made of gold, diamonds, and Raven's national gem: Onyx."

"He's more of a tour guide than a prince, to be honest.", Kyla stated.

We continued walking, passing by some people who were clearly head-over-heels the crown princes. I mean, we even had to run through the city just to escape the stampede of die-hard fans. But, even so, we finally reached the gates of the castle! It was made of black painted steel, and it was so huge, like, 30 feet with towers on either side, withholding the emblem of Raven on each tower. The guards on post opened the gates for us upon Arcel's permission, and we walked in. The view behind the gates was incredible. Street lamps lined the walkways on each side of the main road. It has trees surrounding the perimeter, pots filled with flowers stood beside each street lamp and the road leading towards the castle was almost a kilometer long.

When we got out of the kilometer long entryway, we faced a small circular rotunda garden and behind that was the main door to enter the castle. Sorry, there was so much going on, I forgot to describe the castle. Basically, the castle has this dome area made entirely of glass walls and glass ceilings located at the east wing of the castle. On the west was the royal garden. The exterior part of the castle was beige in color with brown highlights. Three towers stood, the center being the highest. Duh. The tallest tower carries the flag of Raven on it's peak, while the other two held the emblem. Imagine it however you like based on what I said because it's the most beautiful castle due to it's historical architecture.

"We're finally here. At last. Welcome to castle!", Arcel exclaimed.

"This is lit. How old is this thing?", Keith asked, gaping.

"About a hundred this year.", Arcel replied. "Follow me."

Arcel toured us inside the ground floor of the castle where we found the ballroom, which was the glassy building I was talking about before. They have the lounge, dining area, kitchen, indoor garden that includes tea tables, and many more. The ground floor was, of course, centered by marble stairs leading to the higher floors, you imagine it. Walking, further behind the stairs was the lounge, overlooking the royal gardens.

"How do you guys find it so far?", Arcel asked, offering the rest of us to sit in the lounge.

"I find it quite unique.", Wilfred replied.

"Exquisite architecture.", Joshua added. "You are known for it for a reason."

"Thank you, we are.", Arcel bowed in thanks.

"Arcel? Oh, you're back.", a voice echoed. A woman in a maroon cocktail dress with her hair pinned back in a neat bun stood in the entryway of the lounge.

Arcel stood up, "Step-mother. Yes, I am. Under your orders of touring our guests here, yes, I guess I am back."

"Duchess Emilia, it's our pleasure.", Edward stood up, we followed suit.

"Welcome, young rulers, to Raven Kingdom. I apologize if I haven't welcomed you all properly upon your arrival."

"It's not a problem, your grace. Thank you for having us here.", Joshua added.

"I hope you all enjoy your stay. If you do need anything, please don't hesitate to call. Farewell for now.", Emilia smiled, making the hairs behind my neck stand up.

When she was out of sight, I let myself drop to my seat.

"Is she always like that?", I said. "She makes my whole body tingle."

Arcel laughed, "Does she? I, too, get the same reaction sometimes."

"She acts fine, you guys should be nicer to people, much less a duchess, wife of the king of Raven.", Glenn stated.

Arcel chuckled, "Maybe we should eat lunch before starting the tour?"

After eating lunch, Arcel led us through the castle's ground floor, and now, we're currently at the second floor of the castle where the royal chambers are located. Basically, the floor where all the belongings and rooms of the royals are kept. This is obviously the most guarded and secured among all four floors of the castle.

At this point, we were in the crown room. The inside was painted white with marble tiles. The walls were lined with pictures of Raven Kingdom's rulers from all generations. At the end of the room were the crowns, in the highest pedestal sat the king's, and on it's right was the prince's, on the left was the queen's. But, a few steps before those was another crown.

"Who's crown is this?", Joshua asked.

"Oh, that's my sister's.", Arcel replied.

"What's her name, by the way?", I asked.

Arcel looked at the crown and sighed, "I don't know…"

"You don't know? How come? Doesn't the king talk about her?", Glenn reacted suddenly.

Arcel shrugged, "He never entertained my questions about my sister. All I can remember is the face of our mom, but not my sister's, because even during childhood, we never had close contact, father forbid it."

Suddenly, I felt a familiar presence behind me, I turned around and saw a woman pass by. At first I thought that she resembled my mother, but I quickly shrugged off the idea, besides, what would my mother be doing here? Still, I couldn't keep my body from running after the lady. I quickly bolted towards the door and followed the lady as she turned a corner. I heard my companions shout my name, but I didn't dare stop.

"Oh, Duchess Emilia.", I greeted.

The Duchess turned around and smiled, "Yes, dear? Did you need anything?"

"I—", My tongue was suddenly pulled back as my gaze sat on the person, or rather, people, behind the Duchess.

"Mom? Mom.", I muttered absent-mindedly.

Duchess Emilia giggled, "Oh my. What a wonderful coincidence!"

"Racel…what are you—?", my mom started, but was cut off by Arcel's voice.

"Racel! Why did you—oh—step-mother! Ah, apologies, we have guests, greetings… _mom_?!"

I raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean 'mom'?"

"Mom…mom!", Arcel cried out, running towards the person who was supposed to be _my_ mom and hugged her tightly.


	8. Chapter 7

**The Royal Blood**

(A Be My Princess Fan Fiction)

 _Fan Fiction by : Animedaisuki_

 **Chapter 7 : Ah, Royalty…**

"Arcel…darling…how I missed you so! You've grown into a fine man!", my mom, surprisingly, replied, tears forming in her eyes as she hugged Arcel ever so tightly.

The others joined us, and were now in a state of confusion. I stood there, in awe, wondering if this was all some sort of parallel universe or something.

"What's going on? Mom! Can you please explain?", I asked.

The Duchess walked up to me wearing an expression that states that my life will turn around.

"You and Arcel are siblings.", Duchess Emilia said flatly.

"No!", I shouted. Don't get me wrong, Arcel is a great person, but siblings? We don't fit. The princes were in a state of shock. Speechless people were amongst each other during this time, and I was one of them.

"Duchess—", I started.

"'Queen'.", Duchess, or should I say, _Queen_ Emilia, said in a tone that made me flinch.

She added, "I'm about to be crowned queen, dear, now that the _ex_ -queen has returned, she will officially pass down the crown to me."

Arcel stood beside mom, "Mom, you won't do it right? You're here to come back, right?"

Mom smiled sadly and rubbed Arcel's back, "I stepped down already darling, I came here to participate in the coronation of Duchess Emilia, and I came to visit your sick father."

I still couldn't absorb all the information, and I was left dumbstruck.

"So that means, Racel and I are siblings, Racel…it's been a whole 23 years for me. So…that means…Racel…you're a princess! You're my _sister_! ", Arcel exclaimed, running towards me, hugging me tightly.

Duchess Emilia laughed, like a witch I must say, making us turn towards her, "Oh, sweetie, if you put it that way, then yes."

She walked behind me, combing my hair, making my entire body tense up, "Sadly…in this kingdom, female heirs are considered _bad luck_. That is why, Racel, your mother over here sent you away with her to live among the commoners, because your father is a traditional man, and he was desperate, really, to take your life, because…you're _bad luck_ to this kingdom."

"Emilia…stop it.", my mom started, but the Duchess continued on, walking to the direction of the crown room. We all followed her there and she stood a few steps in front of the crown that was apparently mine, and she turned around to face us.

The Duchess spread her arms and smiled, "Look around you! No generation bore an heiress, they were all princes, and in those times, I have to say, according to history, Raven Kingdom was a _great_ kingdom, until eventually, your mother, Princess Emerald, daughter of Nobel Michael, married to my now husband, King Aston, take note, I was the _first_ fiancé, until _you_ came along ex-queen, and she then married, becoming Queen Emerald of Raven. After a while, the kingdom rejoiced for she gave birth to a prince, but that joy lasted only a year, because Emerald gave birth to a princess afterwards, which was the kingdom's greatest disappointment because after you were born, Racel, the kingdom's economic status dropped, and your father was so enraged that he developed a heart disease."

"Emilia!", Mom shouted, as I was simply taking it all in. "Arcel, do accompany the princes out the crown room, and take Racel to her father's room. Racel, the king asks for you."

"No! I forbid that child from seeing her father! That is an order.", Duchess Emilia shouted.

"Then, if you please, do leave the adults for a while, we have something to talk about.", Mom stated flatly.

We left them in the crown room and we followed Arcel out in the royal garden's gazebo.

"Hey, you okay? I'm sorry, I know you're shocked, I am too…", Arcel spoke up, suddenly hugging me. "I missed you…weird, because we never even knew each other…"

"But Uncle Mike said that King Aston married a non-royal lady…and that his daughter married a non-royal gentleman…it just doesn't make sense to me. In terms of logic, it really doesn't make sense. So…this is total nonsense.", I said.

Arcel followed up, "Hey, you spent your entire life with mom, at least there's that, and you have a dad, though he's not your real dad, he still seemed to be!"

I laughed in irritation, "Yeah, my life was so perfect until I got involved in this royal mess! Why? You're living a better life, aren't you?"

Arcel frowned, "Me? I live off my status, Racel, without it, I only have a non-loving father and a vicious step-mother, sounds like a stupid fairytale huh? Duchess Emilia was never a loving and kind person, she's a hidden demon, and father? He raised and groomed me to be a ruler, but he, not once, ever made me feel like I'm his son. Does that sound better than yours?"

"At least your father doesn't want to kill you! I was a child and still, he wants me dead! Finding out the truth of your identity after 22 years is _not_ as easy as it seems. I was told all at the same time that: you and I have the same parents, we're siblings, I'm a princess, I'm total bad luck, I was supposed to be dead years ago, my dad is not my dad, my step-mother hates me, and the state of the kingdom and the King are my fault. How does that sound for a nice children's fairytale?"

"Hey, it's—"

"You know what's worse? I _never_ wanted this much responsibility in my life. Sure, I've dreamt of marrying a prince, but I was a kid, I was stupid, all I know that time was fairytales, fairy godmothers, and happily ever afters, which at this very moment, I've proven them to be non-existent."

I stood up from where I was seated and walked back to the castle's lounge, leaving the princes behind.

"Now that you mention it, I'm now seeing the resemblances between you and your sister.", Keith muttered in awe.

"I'm speechless…this is way too much information to take in.", Joshua added, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"We all met her as a fashion designer with passion, and now, even our heads were turned upside-down, she's suddenly the princess of Raven Kingdom, because earlier, she was just a normal person…oh my God…this _is_ too heavy to handle.", Roberto whined.

"Let's connect the dots…so, Racel was a normal girl, turned princess literally overnight. It's such a sad thing that she didn't know the truth behind her own identity. Her mother's identity was shocking in the same level, Queen Emerald is the daughter of our very own Nobel Michael, she married King Aston of Raven. Side-note, Duchess Emilia is among the nobility of Raven, and was engaged to King Aston _first_.", Wilfred summarized.

Glenn followed up, "The relationship between the Duchess and the King didn't work out, then the King met Racel's and Arcel's mom, and blah blah, they soon married, gave birth to _this_ fool, and soon after, gave birth to the normal girl turned princess overnight, then it all went downhill, like what they said, after Racel's birth, the Kingdom's economy dropped and the King developed a disease of some sort."

"Adding the fact that the King wanted Racel dead, and so Queen Emerald stepped down from her throne in order to try and see if taking Racel away from the kingdom would remove the bad luck that was believed to be brought by her upon the kingdom. And so, Queen Emerald lived and raised Racel with a normal living standard, and she met a nice gentleman who became the father that Racel knows. Years later, Racel became a successful fashion designer, and she met many royals and nobles, and here she is, normal turned princess overnight.", Edward finished.

"The questions that are yet to be answered are: One, why did they all kept it from us, two, is this going to be a royal clash, three, will the coronation be a success? If yes, how will Raven run under the new Queen? And last, will Racel, mom, and I survive from the hands of the new rulers: King Aston Miller, and soon-to-be Queen, Emilia de Altan?", Arcel concluded, stretching his legs out.

The princes remained silent, thinking everything through. Joshua grabbed his phone from his pocket and dialed Racel's number.

All at the same time, the adults that were left in the crown room continued their business.

"Have you been well, Emilia?", Queen Emerald asked flatly. By the way, let's start addressing my mother that way, now that I've found out the truth, there's no better way to put it.

Duchess Emilia smiled, "Of course. How about you? I can see you've remarried."

Queen Emerald returned the sour smile and replied, "I've been doing well, myself, and I hope you've been taking care of my son, Arcel, very well."

"Oh, I have.", Duchess Emilia replied.

"I'm going straight to the point. Clearly, you're still as vicious as you were years ago. Keep away from my daughter, she knows nothing about this.", Queen Emerald stated.

The Duchess laughed and said, "Is it wrong for my step-daughter to know who she truly is? You've been a bad mom, because you hid everything from her, you know? She has the right to know all this. All the luxuries that could have been hers…"

"It's for her own safety, Emilia. She could have lived a simple and safe life, but now that you told her…even in front of the princes of the six major kingdoms—"

"It's nothing but the truth! The truth that all of you are afraid to accept! Face it, you lied to your daughter and kept it for 22 years! Like they said, there's no truth that would not be revealed. You kept it well, Emerald, but the truth will be set free in the end. Don't forget, we even talked about this in front of the King himself. Though bedridden, he still hasn't forgotten. He's still the King. Tell your daughter to be careful, she might experience some… _casualties_."

Queen Emerald gritted her teeth, "Let's cut to the chase, why did you call me back here? Besides, I was in the middle of a vacation with my husband, and you even dare call me back here. Under the King's orders? I don't think so."

Duchess Emilia laughed evilly, "I called for you because I'm preparing for my coronation, and by law, the former queen shall be the one to crown me, unless the former was kicked off the throne. In your case, you stepped down, so it's still under the law. You have to crown me in 3 days, that's why you're here. Ah, speaking of which, when will your daughter be crowned? Since birth, her title was only by name, but was never officially recognized by the kingdom. We should plan that as well, but my coronation will come first. Come, come. I must rehears my speech."

Duchess Emilia walked out the crown room smirking as Queen Emerald followed, keeping her rage under control.

Back at the gazebo, Joshua had no luck contacting Racel. The other princes were still silent.

"What about the camp?!", Roberto suddenly blurted out.

"The Duchess messaged me earlier, saying that she ended it earlier than expected.", Arcel muttered.

"That means we all gotta head home in a while.", Keith announced.

Shortly, Duchess Emilia was seen walking towards the gazebo, the princes stood up as a form of respect to the soon-to-be queen of Raven.

"I'm sure Arcel has told you already, correct? Well, be ready, lunch will be served in 20 minutes, ah, apologies, I informed your parents to cancel your flight for a few hours, I was hoping to get to know you gentlemen and your kingdoms before you leave.", Duchess Emilia said, smiling gleefully.

"Of course…Duchess.", Edward replied.

"Great. I'll see you at lunch then."

You wanna know what I'm up to? Right, well, after I walked back into the royal lounge, a maid approached me and told me that the King is asking for my presence. She guided me to the King's quarters and left me there. I knocked at the door and I was received by the King's butler.

"Your majesty, she's here.", the butler called out. "Follow me."

I walked inside the room that was almost as big as the second floor of our house. The butler left me with the King, who I assumed was asleep for he had his eyes closed.

"Uhm…hello?", I greeted, waving my hand in front of his face.

"Stop waving…I'm awake, my eyes are just closed.", King Aston muttered opening his eyes slowly.

Immediately, I placed my hands behind my back and bowed to the King afterwards, "Your highness."

King Aston sat up and observed me from head to toe.

"You resemble your mother, Racel."

"Thank you."

The king paused, "Are you not afraid…?"

"Sire?"

"I might have called you here and ask for your final words, child."

I was silenced, actually, the main reason is I don't know what to feel and how to react, I mean, this king in front of me is actually my father…

"Relax…I was kidding."

 _'I don't think anyone jokes about that to their children…'_ , I thought.

The King looked down, "Forgive me, child."

I was still busy speaking with the King during the time that Joshua was calling, that's why I didn't answer the call. Most probably, they're now headed to the dining area. Unfortunately, we were interrupted by the king's personal doctor, saying that it's time for his medication. I bid him farewell and headed out. Just as I passed a corner, I felt a tug in my arm.

"Where were you?", Queen Emerald pressed on.

"I was with the King."

My mom's eyes widened, "You're crazy! Don't just go there when he asks you to—"

"He asked for my forgiveness."

"You should know that—he what?"

"He asked for forgiveness. I didn't have time to reply because it was time for his medication. By the way, he said I resemble you.", I replied, smiling and continued walking down towards the dining area, Queen Emerald paused for a while before calling out to me as she followed along.

"Sweetie, I know you have a lot to ask. Racel, honey, what did you talk about? I'm very worried, dear.", Queen Emerald called out. She caught up to me just in time to see the princes enter the lounge.

"Oh, mother. Racel.", Arcel called.

"I've been trying to contact you, where were you?", Joshua asked in frustration.

"Why are you all asking me questions? I don't have answers, alright, I'm the one who needs answers. So tell me, _mom_. Do you have any other secrets I _shouldn't_ know about?", I said.

"Racel, stop.", Arcel warned.

"Okay, I'm your sister, isn't that shocking to you? Unless you're like _them_ who already knew. Oh, God. There's so much questions I have to ask, it makes me wanna flip!"

I scratched my head in frustration and headed inside the dining hall. As we entered, I saw a newsstand and grabbed the latest issue. Guess what?

"Headline: The darkest secret of Raven Kingdom: Revealed. Oh look, a picture of me entering the castle, how exciting.", I declared.

"Of course it should be exciting. I already had my interview with the press even before you knew you were a princess. I asked them to release an article today. Besides, the royals and the nobles of this kingdom were always watching you. You're still a princess, that won't change. So…we knew you were coming, and we knew everything about your life. We're always updated.", Duchess Emilia entered the room and sat on the far end of the table, facing my mother.

The Duchess called for the maid to bring out invitations and we were all given one.

"I would be crowned in 3 days, and I would appreciate if all of you would be there to witness it."

"Thank you, your ladyship, we will inform our parents.", Glenn uttered.

"Please do, sweetheart. Ah, don't worry abut informing them about the return of our beloved princess."

I snickered in sarcasm, rolling my eyes, "I'm pretty sure the whole world knows about it already, the whole story even. You're not to be underestimated, Duchess."

"Exactly! I love your wits, very similar to your father's."

I returned a sour smile.

After eating lunch, Arcel invited me to walk with him out in the garden for a while.

"We never had the chance to do this, or even play around when we were children. Now that we're in our 20's, I don't think being siblings matter anymore. It sucks that we missed childhood together, we could've been close siblings.", Arcel started.

I nodded, smiling, "Yeah. I mean, I didn't even think I'd be a princess, much less your younger sister. How much fate could be laughing right now."

Arcel laughed, just as we stood near the window of the royal lounger where the other princes were.

"I remember you telling me about your family back at camp. I never thought I'd be the sister you were looking for. We don't look alike."

"Right? But in any way, I missed you a lot because the feeling of knowing you have a sister yet you never see her is just frustrating.", Arcel revealed, sighing a breath of relieve.

I giggled, "At least you had an idea. I didn't even know! Hahaha!"

"I wonder where our intersected roads will take us from here. Well, always remember that your brother's here for you. Oh yeah! I have someone to introduce to you. Wait here."

Arcel walked towards the side of the royal garden and disappeared into the tall bushes.

Back in the lounge, the princes looked over Arcel and I.

"Not being able to spend time with your sibling your whole life. That must've been crazy, now that you've finally met. If you think about it, their relationship before were just friendship, now…you just can't look at them without thinking about the fact that they've just recently found out that they're siblings.", Wilfred declared, smiling at the sight of the reunited siblings.

Glenn added a sigh, "She's my childhood friend, and if I think it through, I could have met Arcel years ago. How cruel fate was with the two of them."

"Sorry, I still couldn't shake off the fact that the Racel we know is actually a princess.", Keith said.

Roberto laughed, "I couldn't even grasp all the information yet."

Joshua sighed, "There's a lot to think of about the information that we just heard today."

Back with me waiting for Arcel, I stared across the garden and saw Arcel walk back. With a dog! He jogged with the dog as they head towards my direction.

"Say hi to Aurum.", Arcel stated.

I rubbed the golden retriever's neck, "Pleased to meet you, Aurum. I'm Racel."

"Aww look, she likes you already.", Arcel laughed.

 _Ring ring ring ring_

Arcel checked his phone and said, "Excuse me for a while."

As he talked over the phone, I kept my attention focused on Aurum, until eventually, the maid told me that it was time for Aurum to have his snacks.

"Where's Aurum?", Arcel asked.

"Oh, it was time for her afternoon snacks. Shall we go back in?"

Arcel nodded.

We joined the other princes in the lounge just in time for some tea.

"So, Racel, what's your plan? Now that you're a princess, many things will change.", Keith started.

I shrugged, "I guess I'll continue on as a designer, I'm not yet crowned so it's not official."

Duchess Emilia, along with Queen Emerald, entered the lounge, "Not _yet_. Sooner or later, you'll have to be, unless your father decides on some _other_ way, but I would be against your coronation sweetie, you see, you weren't brought up to be a princess."

"Step-mother…!", Arcel spoke.

The room went silent.

The Duchess continued on, "Say you are crowned, I would prefer if you marry right away."

"Excuse me?", I argued.

"Emilia, what are you saying?", Queen Emeraude stated.

"I want you to marry my friend's son soon after.", Duchess Emilia continued monotonically.

Joshua tensed up.

"I'm not interested, Duchess. Have him marry someone else."

The Duchess smirked, "When you become a princess, dear, but don't worry, I'm against your coronation, and I'm sure your father would rather banish you.

She left the room, leaving everyone in an awkward silence.

"I can't believe you were able to put up with her, Arcel. She's such a—"

"Racel! Keep it in. Didn't I teach you some manners?", Queen Emerald scolded.

"Well someone has to teach my step-mother some manners! She's infuriating! If dad wanted to kill me so bad, he could have done it when I set foot in the kingdom days ago!"

Glenn rolled his eyes and threw a throw pillow at me.

"Hey!", I shrieked.

"What? You're blabbering. A _lot_. Aunt Emerald, is there any other way for her to get out of this situation?", Glenn asked.

Queen Emerald sighed, "The only way out is if her parents disown her."

"Disowned? Forget it, I'd rather go to jail.", I retorted.

"Obviously, you can't step down because you're not even crowned yet.", Joshua added.

"The safest way right now is for you to go home. I'll stay here and push through your coronation, besides, I'll have to stay for the Duchess' coronation in three days.", Queen Emerald stated.

"Can't I just stay here? At least I get to learn a thing or two about this place.", I suggested absent-mindedly.

Arcel snorted, "You can't even stand step-mom for three whole minutes."

"Then I'll stay somewhere else, not here."

Queen Emerald placed her hands on her hips, "That's more dangerous. Now that the entire world knows who you are, walking around the outside world is not as safe as it is before."

"Mom, I didn't get black belts for nothing."

Just so you know, yeah, I received black belts in Karate and Taekwondo because my dad is a great martial artist, he encouraged me to learn and practice it as well.

"I don't care. I'm your mother and I order you to go back home."

I sighed in defeat as my mother left the lounge.


	9. Chapter 8

**The Royal Blood**

(A Be My Princess Fan Fiction)

 _Fan Fiction by : Animedaisuki_

 **Chapter 8 : No Choice, I Went Home**

I took a deep breath. I knew I needed it for my feelings were starting to look like a game of scrabble, and just to ket you know, I hate scrabble. My feelings jumbled like that, it looked almost like a pretzel, I'm confused as shit right now. Forgetting that I was in the presence of the princes, I stormed off and walked straight into the city.

 _Ring ring ring ring_

 _Calling: Arcel Miller_

 _Call end_

 _'Oh. That was his 11th call…'_

 _At the same time, in the Royal Garden_

 _Ring ring ri—_

 _"What?", I answered softly over the phone._

"Where are you?", Arcel solidly asked, frowing.

 _"I'm going home."_

"Racel, _where are you_?"

 _"I'm…not really su—"_

 _Beep beep beep_

Arcel gripped his phone, frustrated.

"Did she say anything?", Joshua asked in equal concern.

Arcel frowned, "That stupid girl…I think her phone just died."

 _With Racel_

I gasped out loud, "Waaah! My phone just died. Oh well, might as well go home."

Raven Kingdom is a wonderful place filled with unique and one-of-a-kind architecture and sites. I haven't got hold of their culture, tradition, and customs so I don't know what to say about them, however, I do feel like the place does have great things to be proud of. Well, not like it concerns me anyway. I left the palace, earlier, found out that my stuff from camp were delivered to the palace, thus, I took all that I have and left. Mom wants me home anyway, and I have work to do, also, I don't like how _step-mom_ welcomes me. As for the king, I don't have any thoughts, he apologized, but I didn't get the chance to reply, and if ever I did, I wouldn't know what to say. I need time. I need time. There's too much to grasp, it's choking me.

In the meantime, I found myself boarding on the royal plan of Raven, just as my mother wished. In no time, I would be back in Oriens, and in three days, I would be attending the Duchess' coronation.

I let out a sigh, "I think I'm gonna go crazy."

 _In the Palace of Raven Kingdom_

Queen Emerald approached the princes who were sitting worried in the lounge.

"Gentlemen, what seems to be the problem?"

Arcel crossed his arms over his chest and spoke, "Racel hasn't come back since this afternoon. We managed to contact her, but she didn't know the place she was at then. That's all we got, her phone died in the middle of the conversation."

Queen Emerald made her way over to the couch and sat beside her son.

"I've received word that she already went home. Don't worry so much, dear, she knows how to handle herself.", Queen Emerald said, placing a hand on her son's shoulder.

"She's still a girl, Your Majesty…", Joshua muttered. He seemed too worried, placing his hand on his forehead, looking so stressed.

Queen Emerald smiled sadly, "I worry for her as well…she can be reckless. Anyway, your planes must be here waiting to send you all back home, why don't you all get ready? I had all your things sent over here, I'll just arrange your rides."

Afterwards, the princes were sent to the airport, Queen Emerald and Prince Arcel went to bid them farewell.

"Mother, will Racel be okay? I mean, after all the things she knew.", Arcel asked as he looked outside the limo's window.

Queen Emerald gazed at the disappearing sun, "If you were in her place, dear, what would you feel?"

"I don't know. Confused, angry, sad? I might as well just go crazy."

"That's how Racel feels right now, and I worry so much for her because it might get in the way of her goals. The girl can be irrational at times as well."

Arcel smiled sadly.

"Arcel, dear, how much you've grown. You're now a fine young man. I'm sorry."

Arcel stared at his mother, stunned, "F-For what?"

"For leaving you…", Queen Emerald stated. "I could go on and on talking about your sister, because I was with her all her life…I wish I could do the same for you. Not a day passes by that I don't worry for you."

Arcel smiled, "It's alright now, Mother. We're together now. I admit, I never understood before, why you took her with you and left me, but I also learned how to realize because of that. After all, you always send me letters and gifts every month."

"It was crazy, because I kept it all from your sister back then, because I wanted to keep her safe."

"I'm sure she'll understand, right?"

Queen Emerald laughed lightly, "Racel…she was never the understanding type, but she has a good heart, we'll see in three days, during the coronation. If she attends, then we can assume she understood."

 _Meanwhile at the airport of Raven Kingdom_

"What the hell are you all doing in my plane?!", Glenn shouted to the other five princes who sat comfortably in Oriens' royal plane.

"Apparently, our parents are currently attending a conference in your kingdom, and thus, we were asked to just go there and wait.", Wilfred replied.

Joshua, who was silently drinking a glass of orange juice, added, "Let's have dinner at your place."

"What?!", Glenn screamed. "I was not informed of this!"

Keith laughed, "Well, do you want us to inform you again? I don't mind repeating what Wilfred said, _ehem_ , 'Apparently, our parents are curren—"

"Stop, stop! I get that part.", Glenn interrupted.

Just then, Yu appeared from the co-pilot's seat and announced, "Your highnesses, we are about to take off. Please _do_ settle down."

"Let's just enjoy the flight, Glennypoo, in fact, it's much more fun because we're all together!"

"Yeah, whatever…", Glenn muttered.

Edward turned in the television, "Let's see what's going on in Oriens."

 _"The whole world is now aware. The secret that Raven Kingdom has been keeping for 22 years. The princess was unaware herself. Racel Morgan, the secret princess of Raven Kingdom, is a fashion designer of the famous designing company, Jean Pierre. Rumours have it that she was also the same person who became the fiancée of the Crown Prince of Dres Van, Joshua Lieben."_

The princes watched in awe, silently, as a footage of Jean Pierre himself, being interviewed, appeared.

 _Reporter: "Have you been aware all this time?"_

 _Jean: "No. But I don't think it matters."_

 _Reporter: "What's going to happen then? Now that her status is well-known to the world."_

 _Jean: "That's not for me to decide. Hahaha! Racel is a person of great heart and sharp mind, talented, and hard-working. I know her as a person with a dream of becoming a great designer. It's not for me to decide for her, besides, my workers are not just employees, they're family."_

Then, from the background, some people screamed, "It's her!", "She's arrived in Oriens!", "Racel Morgan's here!"

The footage being shown live was now directed towards me, who was surrounded by security personnel as I walked towards my car.

 _"Miss Morgan, how does it feel after finding out the truth of your identity?"_

 _"Your ladyship, is it true that you are one of Jean Pierre's?"_

 _"Were you Prince Joshua's ex-fiancée? What happened then? It was a worldwide shock!"_

 _"You are currently a citizen of Oriens, are you planning on moving to Raven to attend to your duties as its princess?"_

 _"Your mother is the daughter of the Great Nobel Michael, what's the story on that?"_

 _"The one your mother re-married, he's an architect, correct?"_

 _"Miss Morgan…"_

 _"Your highness…"_

The phrases were now jumbled together as the crowd grew wilder. I decided not to speak up and answer their questions, instead, I kept walking towards my car, I'm not ready to give out a statement, nor am I sure if all of the information that I heard were true.

The footage ended, and Keith decided to turn off the television.

"It's a chaos in the airport.", Keith muttered. "Wait, if that was her car, the more dangerous, right? Her plate number can be seen, and wherever she goes, she'll get followed around."

Edward frowned, "Not only that, they might even find out where she lives."

"They already know what's up. Where she works, her family background even before she was said to be a royal.", Roberto added, crossing his arms over his chest.

Joshua sat silently, frowning and in worry.

 _With Racel_

"Aaaagggghhhhhh!", I shouted, as I drove in the highways of Oriens. "I'm starting to hate my life. This is a catastrophe! A disaster! My life's gonna go down the drain! Everything! Aaarrrghhhh! Shit, wait, they found out what my car looks like, meaning, they knew my…of course they knew my plate number. Now I'm gonna be followed aroud everywhere I go, who I'm with, and then of course, I'm dead as hell gonna be judged and misunderstood, because those people fancy assuming things."

I took a deep breath and just tried to formulate my composure.

"AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!", I cried. Much louder. "Well, I can't go straight home. I'm gonna have to call— _ugh_ —my battery died."

I pulled over the car and searched for the charging cable, plugged it in my car's socket, drove again, waited for the phone to turn on. When it did, the screen showed:

 _You have 152 missed calls_

 _You have 140 messages_

 _You have 2.5 million follow requests on Instagram_

 _You have been tagged in 600+ posts on Facebook_

 _'Ugh…this was the same thing that happened when I became Joshua's fake fiancee. Only this time, the world really gave a shit.'_

The car's screen showed:

 _Incoming call: Joshua Lieben_

"Hey, what's going on?"

 _"What do you mean what's going on?! Where the hell are you?"_

"Driving."

 _"To?"_

"I actually don't know, but I'm trying to avoid public eye for now. I think I'm headed to Nobel Michael's. I don't know, I didn't see the signage to where this road's leading to, but I think it's to The Holy Land."

 _"Hey, idiot, don't do anything stupid yo—_ _Racel, wait there, okay?—Drive safely!"_

"Was that Glenn, Wilfred, and Roberto?"

 _"Yeah. Our parents are at the palace of Oriens, attending a conference. They wanted us to wait over there instead."_

"I see. Well, I gotta go."

 _"Hey, be careful."_

"I will."

 _Call ended_

 _Incoming call: Arcel Miller_

"Hey."

 _"You okay? Where are you? Mom's worried, now that she saw what happened on the airport, you know, over the news."_

"I'm okay, I'm driving to Nobel Michael's. I don't wanna go straight home, yet, quite dangerous since I'm alone, and they probably caught my car's plate number."

 _"Good idea. Just make sure to keep your guard up, alright? We're miles away from you, we can't get there in a few seconds, so be careful, alright?"_

"Hahaha! Such a worry-wart brother you are, thanks, and I will."

 _"We'll see you in the coronation?"_

I went silent for a moment.

 _"Racel…?"_

"Huh? Oh…uhm, I don't know…"

 _"So you won't attend?"_

"I don't know either. We'll just see then."

 _"Right, well…"_

"I gotta go."

 _"Alright."_

 _Call ended_

 _With the Princes_

The limo, after arriving in Oriens, took them straight to the royal household. Upon arriving, they headed straight to the conference room, where their parents were supposed to be.

"We should probably sit over there first, I don't think they'll be finished soon.", Glenn offered.

The princes walked over the couches just close to the conference room as Yu served them some tea.

Voices echoing from the conference room can be heard:

"So, it has spread out…"

"It's quite an unexpected turn of events, even Nobel Michael has managed to keep it for so long."

"No matter, the girl is the problem! She must be well-guarded! Something might happen…"

"They sure can talk as loud…", Keith muttered, sipping his tea.

"I'm pretty sure they're talking about Racel. Heh, everyone is.", Roberto stated, laughing.

Just then, the conference room's door opened, revealing Jan.

"Oh, your highnesses, their majesties request your presence.", Jan called out.

Inside the conference room, the kings and queens of the major six kingdoms sat around a table.

"Do you know the whereabouts of your friend?", Wilfred's father asked.

"Not exactly, father, but she said that she was on her way to Nobel Michael's.", Wilfred answered.

Joshua's father exhaled, "I think that's best for now, she'll be safer there than her own home."

"Glenn, tell Racel that if ever she goes back here, she's more than welcome to stay in the palace, actually, tell her that I require her so, Queen Emerald has been informed of this as well. Just let her know.", Glenn's mother stated.

Glenn nodded in response.

"Right, well, we're finished here.", Keith's father declared.

 _While in the Palace of Nobel Michael_

"Miss Morgan, we've been expecting you.", Zain, the head butler, approached me as I walked up the entrance hall.

"Zain."

"Nobel Michael is waiting inside the crown room. He wanted to speak to you about something."

I smiled in acknowledgement to Zain and made my way towards where Uncle Mike was.

I walked in the Crown Room, and just as so, Uncle Mike was there, standing right in front his daughter's, aka my mother's, aka Queen Emerald's, crown.

"Uncle Mike?"

Nobel Michael turned around and smiled at me, "Why it's Racel, welcome, welcome."

"Uncle Mike, I wanted to ask you if—"

Uncle Mike chuckled, "I know. You have a lot of questions, go ahead, tell me what's troubling you."

I inhaled a load of air and spoke up, "I can't seem to ask anymore, I don't know what to ask."

Uncle Mike laughed, "Well then, let me start off with your mother. She was a feisty one when she was little, always the complaints, but you know, your mother is someone loving. She grew up to be somewhat of a rebel princess."

"Rebel…princess?"

Uncle Mike nodded, "Mm. I don't need to tell you the entire story of her life, however, she went away when she turned 20, I was devastated then. You see, her mother passed away after giving birth to her, and since then, I raised her by myself, and to me, I felt the kind of pain a mother would have felt upon losing a child. Emerald kept in touch, however, and I found out that she was in fact in Raven Kingdom. She told me stories about her life there, and I was saddened, because I found out that she worked at the palace as a maid…"

My eyes widened, "A-A maid?! Mother?"

 _Father,_

 _I'm sorry…but I know you understand. Please don't worry, for I'm well. I work as a maid at the palace of Raven Kingdom, no matter, they treat me well. I know you didn't raise me to become such, however, I have always dreamt of living a life that I wasn't born into: the normal life. I promise, that I'll keep myself safe, and maybe someday, I'll come back again, after I feel like I've finished my task. I love you, father._

 _Emerald_

"Indeed, but because of that, she met your father, King Aston. During that time, he was engaged with Duchess Emilia. Your father fell in love with Emerald, and cancelled his forged engagement with Emilia, deciding to marry your mother. Eventually, the royals of Raven found out that your mother was my daughter. She came back, asking for my blessing, along with the royals of Raven. This was the long kept secret between the Holy Land and Raven Kingdom. The run-away princess marrying the prince of Raven."

"It sounds like a love story everyone has heard of. I never thought that it actually happens."

"Well, they got married, but it was done in discretion. After a while, your mother gave birth to Prince Arcel, your brother. After a year, she gave birth to you, a princess. It was a shock to the entire world, because the king announced for you to be sent to an orphanage instead. I was disappointed, but due to tradition, it must be done. Raven Kingdom is a kingdom where generations of rulers were all princes. Even in history, no girl was born into the royal family, until you."

 _"Sire, her majesty has given birth to your second child.", the minister reported._

 _"Where is my wife? I must see her."_

 _"Y-You gave birth to a_ girl _…"_

 _"Yes, sire. I shall name her: Racel.", Emerald stated happily._

 _The king looked down, "Guards, take this child away…"_

 _"But dear…you can't simply—", Emerald cried out._

 _"Enough. Giving birth to a girl is more than enough. You can't simply bring bad luck to my kingdom, Emerald. Giving birth to a princess is a disgrace."_

 _Emerald's tears fell down her cheeks, as King Aston walked away without a second word._

I looked down sadly, "There has to be a reason other than tradition…right?"

"I'm afraid only your parents can answer that. But to finish it up, in order to protect you from your fate, your mother stepped down from her throne in order to take care of you. Since then, King Aston has…changed. Your mother went home, along with you, and asked me to bless her once more, this time, by allowing her to give up her crown as the princess of this land.

 _"Aston, the princess is also your child. As a mother, I can't stand seeing my own child be taken away from me by her own father. If giving birth to her was a disgrace, your actions of throwing her out is lowly for a king respected by many. In fact, I wish you weren't her father, because you don't deserve to be. I'm letting go of the crown, give me my daughter, we'll leave this place, hopefully, you won't bother with us anymore. Marrying you was…my biggest regret. Farewell, Your Majesty."_

 _"Father…I ask of you one last wish…please…set me free. I would like to step down my throne of being the princess of this land. I wish to take care of my daughter, give her a home…"_

 _"You're well aware, child, that sooner or later, this conspiracy will eventually come out. Do you wish to take responsibility of that?"_

 _"For my child father, I will. Racel is enough for me to continue living."_

 _Nobel Michael smiled, "Then you have my blessings. I will continue to give you my help and support. Never hesitate to ask, child."_

 _Emerald smiled and hugged her father, teary eyed, "Thank you, father…thank you…"_

"She brought you up alone, and not too long after, she found another love, and thus she married the father you know right now. Your father belongs to one of the noble families in Oriens. Your mother had to tell him, of course, the story of her life before she met him. They came to me, asking for my blessing for their marriage, and of course, I agreed. Your father was a well-refined man, though born into a rich family, he lived in simplicity, along with your mother. Unfortunately, your mother became incapable of bearing another child, and thus, they never had a child. However, your father treated you as if you were his own, he loved you dearly, he filled in what King Aston wasn't capable of giving you: love.", Nobel Michael stated.

"But…the events that are happening now…it doesn't concern me anymore, right? I don't have to be caught up into this royal mess. But why…"

"I have a strong belief that someone close to the royal family of Raven has something to do about this."

I gasped, "But who would even dare?"

"Many would, Racel. As long as your father is in worse condition, many nobles will try to overpower him since Arcel is not yet of age…But child, think nothing of it. The truth will eventually be set free. Things have their way around.", Nobel Michael stated.

He walked towards a rectangular wooden container and gave it to me.

"Here.", Nobel Michael placed the container on my hands. "This is for you."

I opened the box and saw a Kanzashi ( _Kanzashi - Japanese Hair Pin)_. It was gold, attached at one end was a diamond carved into a rose about 2-3 centimeters in diameter.

"Uncle Mike, thank you! I love it so much!", I squealed.

Uncle Mike chuckled, "I was supposed to give you that on your eighteenth birthday, but I didn't think it was the right time."

"Thank you. I'll wear this when I attend the coronation.", I blurted out.

"I guess I'll see you there, child.", Nobel Michael stated, nodding in encouragement.

I bid my grandfather farewell, and quickly, I drove back to Oriens. Just to inform you though, Oriens Kingdom didn't used to be attached to the Holy Land, however, it was then decided that the major six must at least have easy access to this place, thus, they created a bridge connecting Oriens and the Holy Land.

 _Incoming call: Glenn Casiraghi_

 _"Racel, are you on your way back to Oriens?"_

"Yeah, why?"

 _"Come over. Dinner will be ready in 30 minutes."_

"Oh, sure. Thanks for the invite."

 _Call ended_

I arrived in Oriens' palace, greeted by Glenn along with Alan.

"Whaaaaaattt?", I asked in emphasis.

Glenn nodded in satisfaction, "Mother's orders. You are to stay here in the palace for the meantime."

Alan pulled my arm and walked me towards the dining room, "Come on, princess! I'm so happy, Racel will stay in the castle!"

"Alan, dinner will be served in the ballroom, remember?", Glenn reminded.

Alan stopped in his tracks, blushing a tint of red, huffing, "Hmph! I knew that!"

I giggled at his embarrassment.

When we arrived at the ballroom, I immediately greeted upon opening the door.

"Your Majesties, it's an honor to be— _huh?"_

I was faced with all the royals of the six major kingdoms, including the other princes.

"Racel, darling, welcome.", Glenn's mother greeted, gesturing for us: Glenn, Alan, and I, to sit down. I was seated beside Joshua, as requested by Roberto.

"Racel, how have you been after all this?", Joshua's mother asked.

I sighed, "Honestly, I haven't given much thought as to how I'm doing, Your Majesty."

"You must be in a state of shock.", Wilfred's father commented, me nodding in reply.

"You must understand that for the time being, you must stay within the premises of Oriens' palace. It was requested of your mother.", Glenn's father added. "Have you made up your mind yet? Will you be attending the coronation?"

 _"The truth will eventually be set free."_ , I thought about what Nobel Michael said.

"Yes, Sire, I will."

We finished up dinner, the kings and queens decided to chat a little more, leaving us children wandering around the palace.

"So…what's gonna happen to you now?", Joshua asked, directing the question to me.

I shrugged, "I don't know."

A long pause among us settled in.

"I talked to my father…", I started, earning myself a gaze from the princes. "He apologized."

"What did you say to him?", Glenn asked.

"Didn't get the chance to. His doctor said it was time for his medication."

 _Ring ring_

 _Fr: Arcel_

 _Racel…there's something you need to know._

 _Me:_

 _What is it?_

"What's wrong? Why the sour face?", Joshua asked.

I showed them the message.

 _Fr: Arcel_

 _Mom is pushing through your coronation. The Duchess, along with the nobles, disagreed, however, father has permitted it. It's still up for debate though._

"You'll officially become a princess if it goes well, your father even agreed! That's great!", Roberto squealed in excitement.

I stared at him, "Oy! You know what it means if I become a princess, right?"

Roberto jumped up and down, "Yup! You'll be royalty! You'll finally be able to go back to where you belong! What's not good about that?"

My eyebrow twitched. I showed them the next message, "This."

 _Fr: Arcel_

 _Side note, if your coronation was pushed through, Duchess Emilia said she would have you engaged to her nephew, Austin Andrews, eldest son of Grand Duke Harold Andrews._

 _Me:_

 _WHAAAATTTTT?!_

 _Fr: Arcel_

 _That's kind of a good thing for you, since I'm pretty sure no guy would tie-the-knot with a demon, right? Hehe._

"That little piece of—", I muttered. _'Deep breaths. Deep breaths.'_

 _Me:_

 _Get lost, you over-sized chump._

I sighed deeply.

"They'll have you engaged?!", Roberto freaked, giving him a nod in response.

Keith scratched the back of his head, "Your romantic life is such a waste, every single time, you're forced to be engaged to some stupid runt."

Joshua's eyebrow twitched.

"Oy!", Joshua and I said in unison.

Keith's eyes sparkled with humor, releasing a tremendous amount of laughter.

"Oh yeaaaahhh! I almost forgot, you and Racel got involved in a false engagement!", Roberto commented.

Somehow, we caught each other's glance, so I quickly turned away, blushing. Joshua sucks at covering his embarrassment, so his face instantly heated up in front of the princes.

"My, my, Joshua blushes now.", Edward pressed on, smirking. Edward may be the gentleman _most_ of the time, but if he starts teasing, you might as well spill.

"I'm not blushing!", Joshua shouted, his cheeks tinted red.

I laughed along with them and said, "You are!"

The night quickly ended, and the princes were getting ready to head back to Oriens' airport. Joshua approached me with his usual gaze.

"Will you be okay?", Joshua asked, blushing a shade of pink. It seems that he thought the evening light could hide his tinted cheeks, but it didn't. Unfortunately for him.

I smiled, "I will. See you on the upcoming coronation?"

He smiled, "Yeah."

 _Awkward silence_

Joshua gulped. I could feel him tensing up, his eyes were looking everywhere. Yeah, that's how Joshua is when he's nervous. However, I'm kind of starting to feel the same way, I could feel my palms sweating.

"U-Uhm…", I started.

Joshua looked away, "Uh…I'll see you then."

"Yeah."

 _'What's wrong with me?!'_ , Joshua thought to himself as he walked towards the front porch, where the limos were waiting.

Glenn joined me as I bid farewell to the other royals and, afterwards, accompanied me to the royal garden. We sat at the nearest bench in silence, until my phone notified me of a message.

 _Fr: Mom_

 _I hope you're doing well, dear. You need not worry of what you will be wearing on the Duchess' coronation, I had it take care of. Keep safe always, that's an order. Love you sweetheart!_

 _Me:_

 _I'm doing okay so far, don't worry too much mom. Thanks for taking care of my dress, I'll be sure to attend. Love you too, mom._

"Who was it?", Glenn asked.

"Mom. Just checking up on me."

Glenn smiled, "Wanna grab some late night coffee?"

I stared at him, dumbfounded, "Right now? If people see us, they'll obviously get the wrong idea, we might get involved in an issue we wouldn't want."

Glenn laughed.

"Don't laugh idiot, this is a serious thing!"

Glenn looked at me, smiling, "I don't mind, as long as it's you…"

I stared at him, trying to force away my blush.

"Kidding, dumbhead. Try not to fall for me though."

I gritted my teeth, "Glenn…"

He raised his hands in surrender, "Sorry, sorry! I was just trying to make you feel better."

I raised an eyebrow, "How is that supposed to make me feel better, Casiraghi?"

Then, he smirked evilly, "Why? Would you rather have Joshua Lieben accompany you?"

I blushed and punched him playfully on the arm, "Shut up already! That wasn't what I meant!"

Glenn laughed, "We both know you still like him."

I huffed defensively, still blushing, "I don't!"

"Hello, Joshua?"

My jaw dropped, seeing Glenn talking on the phone with none other than Joshua. Glenn smirked at me and placed the call on loud speaker.

 _"What do you want at this late hour, Glenn?"_

"Ohh, nothing much, someone wanted to speak with you."

I tried to grab the phone from him to no avail.

"Glenn!", I shouted, much louder than what I expected.

 _"Racel?"_

I blushed and said, "It's his sister!"

 _"Glenn doesn't have a sister, stupid. What is it that you two fools want?"_

"Racel wants to see you tomorrow! She'll finally admit her feelings to you! She told me she loves you and that she still feels about end of your engagement.", Glenn stated, and to me, it was as if the world ended.

Joshua remained silent for an unnatural length of time.

 _"I-Is that tru—Will you two quit it?! Tch, such childish idiots. I'm going to bed, good night."_

"Hehe, good night, Joshua.", Glenn stated, as he smirked his evilest towards me. "Good night, Racel."

I rolled my eyes, "So much for sleep, Prince Glenn."

Glenn laughed nervously, "Hey, are you mad? You don't have to worry about it, I don't think Joshua even understood what I said, I mean, for someone like him, he's still probably half-asleep when he answered the phone."

I sighed, "Yeah, you're probably right. Let's just go get that coffee."

We were most definitely wrong. Joshua sat up in his bed, blushing as he brushed his hair with his hand.

"That girl—ugh—I can't believe I'm blushing over something like that.", Joshua muttered, smiling lightly to himself.

Nothing much has happened during the days before the Duchess' coronation. I continued to stay in Oriens Kingdom's palace, much to Alan's excitement. The day of the coronation finally came, and as stated by my mom, she had my "thing to wear" readied, thus, I decided to go with an easy-going outfit: a pair of faded skinny jeans, a loose white button-up whose sleeves were rolled up until the elbows, matched with a pair of light brown loafers. Since I never went home since three days ago, the only stuff I had, and decided to bring were my wallet and phone, and I included the Kanzashi that Uncle Mike gave me. I walked out of my room and headed to the living room.

"Woah, you dressed up quick. You finished ahead of me.", Glenn announced as he walked towards me in his crown prince attire. "What's with the attire?"

"Mom had it settled already, I think she plans on dressing me up in Raven."

Glenn laughed, "Looking forward to how you'll look. Hahahaha!"

"I'm not looking forward to it at all..."

We finally arrived at the venue, the throne room of Raven's palace. The room itself is as big as the ballroom. In full description, the room is rectangular, upon opening the two-door entrance, the thrones of the king and queen sat in the far end. Three ceiling-high windows lined each side of the room. That's about it, but since a coronation is being held, it was decorated elaborately. The center was lined with a red carpet and on each side of the carpet were chairs for the guests, or, what they prefer, witnesses. Two to three front rows were reserved for the monarchs who were going to attend, on the right side of the carpet were the place where the leaders of the major six were to sit. When we entered the room, mom, Arcel, and few other guests including the other princes were there.

I approached my mother, "Mom."

She sent me a smile, "Thank you for choosing to come."

I smiled back, "I thought about it, and I guess everything has its place. I chose to understand my own damn situation. Anyway, where's dad?"

Mom hesitated, then confirmed, "Which dad are you referring to, dear?"

I stifled a laugh, "The one I grew up to."

Mom laughed, "I asked him to go back home first."

"Ah."

Mom clapped her hands twice and two maids assisting with the décor came.

"Right then. They will assist you as you dress. Hurry along now, the event will begin in an hour and a half."

I nodded reluctantly, before actually following the maids out the room, I went to Prince Glenn and informed him of where I would be.

"Sure, see you later."

I went with the maids after that and I was now being styled.

"Uhm, is it alright if you include this Kanzashi that my grandfather gave me?", I requested.

The maid agreed. She fixed my hair into a neat, low side-bun. By the way, the Kanzashi is not actually chopstick length, rather, it's somewhat like a hair pin, and that was placed on the bun. Then, the maids led me to a platform and brought out my garments. The dress itself was pure white, and as a fashion designer, after wearing it, I assessed the kind of gown I'm wearing. As I've said, it's pure white. It's off-shoulder, and the skirt was styled in a simple sheath form. The back of the dress contains its watteau train, attached to the off-shoulder sleeves, which, by the way, was only about three inches in length. The maids handed me my accessories: diamond studded earrings, a diamond necklace, and two golden cuff bracelets. My shoes were simple, white pumps. I declined the diamond necklace, rather, I chose to wear the one that Prince Joshua gave.

"Is this really for a coronation? Or...have my family decided for me to get married right at this moment?", I asked the maids, making them giggle.

"My lady, in Raven, when one is going to be crowned, the royal family of Raven must keep the tradition of wearing pure white, with minimal accessories."

I stared at myself in the mirror and smiled, then an image of Prince Joshua appeared in my mind, which made me turn red.

"Oh, your ladyship, are you okay? You seem a bit flushed."

I nodded, "Yes, I'm alright. Shall we go?"

The maids hesitated for a bit, but they assisted me back to the throne room either way.

 _"Somehow, I do feel quite sick."_ , I thought as we walked. _"Maybe it's because of the last few days' stress and shock. I'll get over this."_

When we arrived, Arcel and my mom were standing outside the doors of the room. Arcel was wearing an all-white suit. White suit, white polo, white tie, white slacks, and to be a bit casual, he paired it all with white sneakers. He didn't wear his royal sash, however, the golden medals of some sort were there. He technically looked the same, only this time, he looked as if he was going to heaven. My mother wore almost a similar design with mine, the difference is that hers had a Queen Anne neckline, long lace sleeves, and instead of having a train, she had a cape draped over her shoulders which was secured by two white ropes attached to the cape that were tied together, forming a ribbon-like appearance on her neckline. She doesn't have cuff bracelets unlike me. Her hair was tied in a neat French twist with her royal crown on top of her head.

"I thought you stepped down?", I pointed out.

Mom touched her crown and said, "I did. However, it's part of the ceremony, that the former queen must be seen wearing the crown before passing it onto the successor. There's an exception though, if the former queen was dethroned, a chosen member of the royal house would be the one to put the crown on the successor."

"I see everyone's ready?", a soft, yet strong voice called from behind.

"Father...?", Arcel and I stated.


End file.
